This project focused upon the development of an approach to assist publicfleet managers in evaluating the characteristics and availability of alternative fuels (AF's) and alternative fuel vehicles (AFV's) that will serve as possible replacements for vehicles currently serving the needs of various public entities. Also of concern were the institutional/international limitations for alternative fuels and alternative fuel vehicles. The City of Detroit and other public agencies in the Detroit area were the particular focus for the activities. As the development and initial stages of use of alternative fuels and alternative fuel vehicles proceeds, there will be an increasing need to provide information and guidance to decision-makers regarding differences in requirements and features of these fuels and vehicles. There wig be true differences in requirements for servicing, managing, and regulating. There will also be misunderstanding and misperception. There have been volumes of data collected on AFV'S, and as technology is improved, new data is constantly added. There are not, however, condensed and effective sources of information for public vehicle fleet managers on vehicle and equipment sources, characteristics, performance, costs, and environmental benefits. While theoretical modeling of publicfleet requirements has been done, there do not seem to be readily available practical''. There is a need to provide the best possible information and means to minimize the problems for introducing the effective use of alternative fuels and alternative fuel vehicles.

The FHWA has commissioned the Commercial Vehicle Fleet Management and Information Systems study to determine if there are fleet management needs that the public sector can address through the development of ITS for commercial vehicle operations. As p...

The Swedish public transport sector has defined two major targets, i.e., to run 90% of the total vehicle kilometers of the fleet on non-fossil fuels and double the volume of travel via public transport by 2020, increasing the share of public transport in relation to the total personal transport in the country . The f3 report Fuel options for public bus fleets in Sweden highlights the challenges and solutions encountered, particularly when it comes to the adoption of renewable fuels in the reg...

Full Text Available Background: The present paper deals with the problems of a public transportation fleet management in public transportation operators. A management concept is proposed based on a real-time acquisition of parameters of public transportation passenger exchange. Methods: The relevant research utilised video materials documenting the processes of passenger exchange in public transportation. The proposed methodology is based on a dynamic real-time measurement of passenger streams. A characteristic feature of the measurement methodology applied is that the data is collected outside the vehicles, with a CCTV camera used per access point. Demand for the public transportation service are calculated using the image processing. Results: The derived demand characteristics allow not only an estimation of the magnitude of traffic streams in public transportation but also their qualitative description. Such an approach permits a flexible design of the transportation offer to adapt to the demand. This allows matching the timetables to the density functions describing the demand for public transportation within the space of transportation networks. In addition, based on the results of this type of research, a public transportation operator may despatch the vehicle base in a flexible way. For each run of a bus or tram fleet, basing on the registered passenger traffic streams, it is possible to rationally despatch the vehicles with suitable capacity. Conclusions: A system of this type is capable of determining the quality of work of the public transportation. With the ITS systems being introduced still more widely, the proposed methodology allows the design and implementation of dynamic timetables.

In todays increasingly competitive economic environment, effective management of commercial vehicle fleets is important for all types of carriers and for the trucking industry as a whole. To meet fleet management needs, carriers increasingly are t...

CIVINS (Civilian Institutions) Thesis document Approved for public release ; distribution is unlimited The purpose of this report is to present in a concise form the principles and fundamentals of managing the public works equipment fleet, providing a basis from which to develop an effective fleet management program. The report begins with a review of today's trends in fleet management, including, organization, privatization, effects of environmental regulations and a discussion on info...

Environmental implications of fleet electrification highly depend on the adoption and utilization of electric vehicles at the individual level. Past research has been constrained by using aggregated data to assume all vehicles with the same travel pattern as the aggregated average. This neglects the inherent heterogeneity of individual travel behaviors and may lead to unrealistic estimation of environmental impacts of fleet electrification. Using "big data" mining techniques, this research examines real-time vehicle trajectory data for 10,375 taxis in Beijing in one week to characterize the travel patterns of individual taxis. We then evaluate the impact of adopting plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) in the taxi fleet on life cycle greenhouse gas emissions based on the characterized individual travel patterns. The results indicate that 1) the largest gasoline displacement (1.1 million gallons per year) can be achieved by adopting PHEVs with modest electric range (approximately 80 miles) with current battery cost, limited public charging infrastructure, and no government subsidy; 2) reducing battery cost has the largest impact on increasing the electrification rate of vehicle mileage traveled (VMT), thus increasing gasoline displacement, followed by diversified charging opportunities; 3) government subsidies can be more effective to increase the VMT electrification rate and gasoline displacement if targeted to PHEVs with modest electric ranges (80 to 120 miles); and 4) while taxi fleet electrification can increase greenhouse gas emissions by up to 115 kiloton CO2-eq per year with the current grid in Beijing, emission reduction of up to 36.5 kiloton CO2-eq per year can be achieved if the fuel cycle emission factor of electricity can be reduced to 168.7 g/km. Although the results are based on a specific publicfleet, this study demonstrates the benefit of using large-scale individual-based trajectory data (big data) to better understand environmental implications

Why publicinformation activities in Korea are needed is first explained. There are three basic reasons; 1) to secure necessary sites for construction of large nuclear facilities; such as nuclear power plants, radwaste management facilities, and nuclear fuel-cycle related facilities 2) to maintain a friendly relationship between the local communities and the nuclear industries, 3) to promote better understanding about the nation's peaceful nuclear programs to the various target groups. Categorization of target groups and messages are reviewed. By whom the publicinformation programs are implemented is also explained. An orchestrated effort together with the third communicators is stressed. Basic philosophy of nuclear publicinformation programs is introduced. A high-profile information campaign and a low-profile information campaign are explained. Particular information strategies suitable to Korean situation as examined. In addition, the Korean general public perception on nuclear energy is briefly introduced. Also, some real insights of anti-nuclear movement in Korea together with the arguments are reviewed. In conclusion, the paper stresses that nuclear arguments became no more technical matters but almost socio-political issues. (author)

Lists 21 new publications in group work, of which 9 are reviewed. Those discussed include publications on group counseling and psychotherapy, structured groups, support groups, psychodrama, and social group work. (Author/NB)

The Information Inquiry Group on Radioecology and Public Communication is a branch of the Department of Production Association Mayak. Mayak was formed in 1989. The main tasks as well as main functions of the group are presented. (author)

Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to develop an approach based on the social quality evaluation square model for evaluation of information technology usage in different social groups. Componential view to the accessibility of e-services including IT means providing the possibility to research the influences of different life conditions to usage of the public e-services. The task of this empirical study is directed towards revealing the differences of e-inclusion and e-services accessibility for social groups of citizens of Lithuania, and to compare this accessibility data with other EU countries.Design/methodology/approach—the approach is based on the square model of social quality evaluation of information technology usage in different social groups. The social division square model includes an assessment of quality according to the evaluation of socioeconomic security, social inclusion, social cohesion, and empowerment. Empowerment can be defined as consisting of individual or collective decisions to act on one’s own life.Findings—the results are demonstrated by the accessibility of public e-services data, which are evaluated by the quality of social group development according to IT applications. The hypothesis was confirmed that the e-government activities can be realized by properly selecting and installing technologies, and using technology facilities. E-services influence the capabilities of state officials to apply modern technology and increase the availability of e-services for social groups. Results consist of individual or collective decisions to act on one’s own life, to implementation of effective information technologies in the e-government activities and using of e-services. An important indicator is the implementation of e-services in the activity of citizens. It is submitted as the index of e-participation in dealing with the activities of citizens and the possibilities of authorities directly related with providing services

Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to develop an approach based on the social quality evaluation square model for evaluation of information technology usage in different social groups. Componential view to the accessibility of e-services including IT means providing the possibility to research the influences of different life conditions to usage of the public e-services. The task of this empirical study is directed towards revealing the differences of e-inclusion and e-services accessibility for social groups of citizens of Lithuania, and to compare this accessibility data with other EU countries. Design/methodology/approach—the approach is based on the square model of social quality evaluation of information technology usage in different social groups. The social division square model includes an assessment of quality according to the evaluation of socioeconomic security, social inclusion, social cohesion, and empowerment. Empowerment can be defined as consisting of individual or collective decisions to act on one’s own life. Findings—the results are demonstrated by the accessibility of public e-services data, which are evaluated by the quality of social group development according to IT applications. The hypothesis was confirmed that the e-government activities can be realized by properly selecting and installing technologies, and using technology facilities. E-services influence the capabilities of state officials to apply modern technology and increase the availability of e-services for social groups. Results consist of individual or collective decisions to act on one’s own life, to implementation of effective information technologies in the e-government activities and using of e-services. An important indicator is the implementation of e-services in the activity of citizens. It is submitted as the index of e-participation in dealing with the activities of citizens and the possibilities of authorities directly related with providing

Original title: Informele groepen Going out running with a group of friends, rather than joining an official sports club. Individuals who decide to take action themselves rather than giving money to good causes. Maintaining contact with others not as a member of an association, but through an

The public transport sector in Sweden has set a target to run 90% of its total vehicle-kilometers on renewable fuels by 2020, and double its market share in the long term. The focus of this paper is the adoption of renewable fuels in public bus fleets. Data for all 21 Swedish counties were gathered and analyzed, mapping the bus fleets’ condition in relation to renewable fuel deployment, CO2 emissions and energy efficiency. The main factors affecting fuel choices in the bus fleets were investi...

The health effects of ionizing radiation recently have been the focus of increased public concern. In response to this concern, in a May 9, 1978, memorandum the White House requested the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to coordinate an interagency program that would, among other things, ensure public awareness and knowledge of the health effects of ionizing radiation. As a result, the Interagency Task Force on Ionizing Radiation was formed. The Information Work Group of the Task Force was asked to outline a publicinformation program to meet the needs of the general public, the health and scientific community, workers, and other persons exposed to low levels of ionizing radiation in the past and at present or who may be exposed in the future. The Work Group is composed of 16 members, each representing an agency participating on the Interagency Task Force on Ionizing Radiation. The Work Group members used the draft Reports of the Science Work Group, the Radiation Exposure Reduction Work Group, the Care and Benefits Work Group, and the Privacy Work Group as a basis for developing the Information Report. In addition, the Information Work Group conducted a preliminary review of existing federal information programs. Meetings were held with representatives of environmental and trade groups, unions, and professional societies to help define the dimensions and priorities of a publicinformation program

Full Text Available Controlling a fleet usually implies to establish means of control of vehicles, to collect the data associated with the routes taken by these vehicles, to interpret and evaluate the meaning of the collected data and to make the appropriate decisions to improve the efficiency in the use of vehicles in an organization. The implementation of this process of fleet management is mainly performed manually and the solutions available on the market are costly because of the payments for licenses, it is also necessary that the people monitoring the fleets are geographically close to them. This paper aims to answer the following questions: How to reduce errors in the management of information resulting from the fleet management process? How to reduce the cost of remote fleet monitoring? To obtain the solution, we propose the use of GPS devices in each vehicle, the GPS device’s information is captured and consistently stored in a data base, then the information is consulted, analyzed and represented on a map. The result is a software application that allows users have fast and reliable information that will enable them to take the necessary decisions in the vehicle fleet they are trying to control at a low cost.

The aim of this report is an analysis of the activity of Information Inquired Group on radioecology and public communication, existed in the town of atomic industry Ozyorsk on the base of production association M ayak . Main tasks and functions of this organization, its management structure, forms of activity are considered in this report. In the report the emphasis is laid on the specification of nuclear branch and problems of the work with the public, connected with it. Conclusions maintain the practical recommendation by the work with the public, made on the experience of the Information Inquired Group's activity, and the results of functioning of the organization during ten years. (author)

Ship AOR Area of Responsibility ATG Assistant Training Group B2B Business to business Beach DET Beach Detachment CHT Collection and Holding...operationalize supply domain. While the initiatives did not specify a Web-based information system concept, business to business ( B2B ) information...cost more per pound to deliver and frequently cause delays compared to the commercial freight companies . Military personnel traveling overseas are

The PublicInformation Plan is intended to be used in conjunction with the DOE-UMTRA Project ''Public Participation Plan'' to describe the Department of Energy's plan for involving the public in the decision-making process related to the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project. This project was authorized by Congress in the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control of Act of 1978, PL95-604. The Act provides for a cooperative effort with affected states and Indian tribes for the cleanup of designated abandoned or inactive uranium mill tailings sites. The objective of the PublicInformation Plan of the UMTRA Project is timely and sufficient dissemination of factual information to promote understanding of the project by federal, state, and local officials, the media, special interest groups, and the general public; and thereby to encourage informed participation in the project by the public and government officials. The Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act provides for public involvement in remedial action planning, with special consideration given to landowners, Indian tribes, and the states. According to the Act, the Secretary of Energy shall hold public hearings in the states where processing sites, vicinity properties, and disposal sites are located. Public participation in the UMTRA Project will not, however, be limited to those mechanisms formally required by law. The public may also be involved informally through informational meetings, workshops, and local citizens' task forces. 12 refs., 2 figs., 1 tab

Public transport is important for Sweden to acquire a fossil-fuel independent vehicle fleet by 2030. The aim of this paper is to assess the status of Swedish public bus fleets towards decarbonization, and explore factors affecting regional performance variations and fuel choices. Environmental performance indicators such as renewable fuel shares, CO 2 emissions, and energy efficiency are analyzed nationally and regionally. Fuel preferences and best practices are investigated through a survey and interviews with experts working with strategic planning at Public Transport Authorities. Almost 60% of the bus transport volume ran on renewables in 2014 compared to 8% in 2007, but regional variations are significant, partly due to factors such as driving conditions, bus and fuel types, typical trip lengths, and climatic conditions. However, there is no strong correlation between population densities or bus transport volume and the share of renewables achieved. This places political will, strategic planning and policies to promote public transport as key factors affecting renewable fuel deployment. Environmental factors are a priority when choosing fuels, while barriers to renewable fuels are mainly economic and political. Meanwhile, despite the overall progress, achievements in energy efficiency improvement are falling short in comparison to emissions reduction and adoption of renewable fuels, thus requiring further attention. - Highlights: • The penetration of renewables in Swedish public bus fleets reached ca. 60% in 2014. • Public bus emissions per vehicle-km have decreased by 43% between 2007 and 2014. • Efforts are needed to improve energy efficiency in bus transport. • Electricity is likely to receive increased attention according to expert survey.

Including public interest groups in the siting process for nuclear waste disposal facilities is of great importance. Controversial sitings often result in litigation, but involving public interest groups early in the process will lessen the change of this. They act as surrogates for the general public and should be considered as members of the team. It is important to remember though, that all public interest groups are different. In choosing public panels such as public advisory committees, members should not be chosen on the basis of some quota. Opposition groups should not be excluded. Also, it is important to put the right person in charge of the committee. The goal of public involvement is to identify the conflicts. This must be done during the decision process, because conflicts must be known before they can be eliminated. Regarding litigation, it is important to ease through and around legal battles. If the siting process has integrity and a good faith effort has been shown, the court should uphold the effort. In addition, it is important to be negotiable and to eliminate shortcuts

Full Text Available Abstract Background The purpose of this study is to explore laypersons' attitudes toward the use of archived (existing materials such as medical records and biological samples and to compare them with the attitudes of physicians who are involved in medical research. Methods Three focus group interviews were conducted, in which seven Japanese male members of the general public, seven female members of the general public and seven physicians participated. Results It was revealed that the lay public expressed diverse attitudes towards the use of archived information and samples without informed consent. Protecting a subject's privacy, maintaining confidentiality, and communicating the outcomes of studies to research subjects were regarded as essential preconditions if researchers were to have access to archived information and samples used for research without the specific informed consent of the subjects who provided the material. Although participating physicians thought that some kind of prior permission from subjects was desirable, they pointed out the difficulties involved in obtaining individual informed consent in each case. Conclusions The present preliminary study indicates that the lay public and medical professionals may have different attitudes towards the use of archived information and samples without specific informed consent. This hypothesis, however, is derived from our focus groups interviews, and requires validation through research using a larger sample.

... and execution, and as an information system for corporate knowledge management. The capability of a Web-based system will optimize Naval supply chain operations, significantly reduce man-hours, provide a mechanism for continuous process improvement, and enable the Naval supply system to become a learning organization.

This publication first recalls the reasons for subcontracting the maintenance of French nuclear plants (need of specialised expertise and abilities) even though EDF keeps an industrial and technical control. It describes the framework of these subcontracted activities (a long lasting collaboration, implementation of requirements), and how multi-annual markets are subcontracted to support the development of specialised companies. It outlines to which extent the selection and certification process is rigorous, that subcontractor salaried personnel is to be specifically trained, that radiation protection is performed under the same conditions for everybody. It indicates some specific measures which have been implemented to take subcontractor personnel working conditions into account. The updating of abilities for future activities is discussed. Some key data are provided regarding jobs, contracts, training, medical expenses, and fields of activity of subcontracting companies

Full Text Available This article proposes an information technology model to evaluate fleet management failure. Qualitative research done by a case study within an Interstate Transport company in a São Paulo State proposed to establish a relationship between computer tools and valid trustworthy information needs, and within an acceptable timeframe, for decision making, reliability, availability and system management. Additionally, the study aimed to provide relevant and precise information, in order to minimize and mitigate failure actions that may occur, compromising all operational organization base functioning.

The purpose of these PublicInformation Guidelines is to provide principles for the implementation of the NWPA mandate and the Mission Plan requirements for the provision of publicinformation. These Guidelines set forth the publicinformation policy to be followed by all Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) performance components. The OCRWM offices should observe these Guidelines in shaping and conducting publicinformation activities

The purpose of these PublicInformation Guidelines is to provide principles for the implementation of the NWPA mandate and the Mission Plan requirements for the provision of publicinformation. These Guidelines set forth the publicinformation policy to be followed by all Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) performance components. The OCRWM offices should observe these Guidelines in shaping and conducting publicinformation activities.

This thesis describes and evaluates Fleet Surgical Teams (FSTs). It examines how Navy Medicine adapted FSTs to changing support requirements associated with the Total Health Care Support Readiness Requirement (THCSRR...

To the man in the street, the topic of nuclear energy on the one hand is a highly emotional subject incorporating dangers hard to assess. However, on the other hand, there is in most cases little inclination to concern oneself with problems of energy economy. Public relations activities therefore frequently must motivate their adresses to accept information before they can actually inform. In this connection, the informing party must appear trustworthy and avoid that a teacher : pupil relationship is created. In addition, the changes in the socio-political environment must be taken into account. Within the industries and organizations engaged in the nuclear field there is the problem that the effects and the impact of public relations work can hardly be gaged by individually, which greatly hampers quantification of the work actually done.

... of information relevant to compliance with fleet average NOX standards. 86.1862-04 Section 86.1862-04...-Cycle Heavy-Duty Vehicles § 86.1862-04 Maintenance of records and submittal of information relevant to..., maintain, and retain the following information in adequately organized and indexed records for each model...

Public approval hinges not only on delivering the information the public wants but on providing tangible evidence that we are listening to public concerns. We must respond. Public acceptance depends on making real change which speaks to people's concerns. The message that the public wants to hear is that government are listening and acting on what they hear. In Canada, the nuclear regulator is increasingly active in the public arena. We held cross-country consultations as we prepared Canada's strong new Act and regulations. We have developed information vehicles such as the Radiation Index and our web site. We continue to extensively involve the public in our licensing process. All licensing hearings are open to the public. Nothing is harder to capture than public trust. This conference marks a substantial investment in learning and in our common future. We can work to build our credibility as regulators who acts on public concerns. (N.C.)

The SDIN is the new information system that allows the management of operating and maintenance activities of EDF's fleet of nuclear power plants. This new system relies on 6 main softwares that allow: 1) the management of operations and maintenance, 2) the management of documentation, 3) the management of activities during unit outages, 4) the management of diagrams, schemes and designs, 5) the reporting of activities, and 6) a unified access to the SDIN. SDIN entered into operation in 2012 (6 years after its launching) in a testing phase in the Blayais power plant and in 2 engineering departments. SDIN is expected to improve the plant performance and its standard of safety as well as to prepare the way in terms of adequate technical conditions for operating life extension. (A.C.)

In this paper we study a two-dimensional maintenance contract for a fleet of public transport, such as buses, shuttle etc. The buses are sold with a two-dimensional warranty. The warranty and the maintenance contract are characterized by two parameters – age and usage – which define a two-dimensional region. However, we use one dimensional approach to model these age and usage of the buses. The under-laying maintenance service contracts is the one which offers policy limit cost to protect a service provider (an agent) from over claim and to pursue the owner to do maintenance under specified cost in house. This in turn gives benefit for both the owner of the buses and the agent of service contract. The decision problem for an agent is to determine the optimal price for each option offered, and for the owner is to select the best contract option. We use a Nash game theory formulation in order to obtain a win-win solution – i.e. the optimal price for the agent and the optimal option for the owner. We further assume that there will be three different usage pattern of the buses, i.e. low, medium, and high pattern of the usage rate. In many situations it is often that we face a blur boundary between the adjacent patterns. In this paper we look for the optimal price for the agent and the optimal option for the owner, which minimizes the expected total cost while considering the fuzziness of the usage rate pattern.

The Nuclear Regulatory Authority of the Slovak Republic (UJD) is around to serve the public. This is a regulatory institution that furnishes truthful and independent information on nuclear safety of nuclear installations, including information on management of radioactive wastes, spent fuel, nuclear materials, control and record-keeping thereof, as well as information on other fuel cycle phases. UJD seeks to provide information in an orderly, accurate and comprehensible manner in such a way that it cannot be disclaimed, as the public has the right to know the truth. In formulating information, regularity, consistency and openness are of high importance, because information presented cannot serve a controversy. UJD furnishes information independently and separately from that issued by nuclear power plant operators. As a central administration authority, UJD provides on request, within the field of its responsibility, in particular the information on safety of nuclear energy installations independently from nuclear programme implementers, allowing the public and the media to check up the data and information thereon. A significant element of the information is the demonstration that the area of nuclear energy uses in the Slovak Republic has its binding rules and the compliance therewith is controlled by the state through an independent institution - UJD. As early as in 1995 the foundations laid were at UJD for the concept for broad publicinformation on UJD activity and on safety of nuclear installations by opening UJD Information Centre. This Centre provides communication with the public and the media, thereby contributing to fashioning among the public a favourable image of the independent state supervision over nuclear safety. The Information Centre was extended in 2000. In 2000, 76 contributions on domestic and foreign UJD activities were sent in to Slovak press agencies, dailies and electronic media. UJD is together with the SUJB the publisher of the journal

The Chernobyl accident in 1986 uncovered serious information problems in many Western countries, and started a debate on crisis communication and information strategies in relation to radiation danger in society. The information problem focuses on four main perspectives. The first is related to information as a persuasion process in which an efficient strategy would influence both the public's knowledge of radiation danger, their attitude towards it and their behaviour. The second perspective calls attention to the importance of the different elements of the information process. How important are different characteristics of the information source; the message itself, and the receiver? The third perspective concentrates on different types of information. What is this issue all about, why is the situation as it is, and how should people behave to protect themselves? The fourth perspective points to the various phases of a crisis. The information needed is obviously not the same in the period before a crisis emerges when no one knows what is going to happen, in the warning period when one knows that something may happen, and during the crisis itself. (Author)

In 1999 there were 83 contributions on both national and foreign activities of the Nuclear Regulatory Authority of the Slovak Republic (UJD) send to the Press agencies of Slovakia, dailies and electronic media. UJD, together with State Office for Nuclear Safety of the Czech Republic, is a publisher of a professional journal 'Safety of Nuclear Energy', which publishes principal articles about main activities of UJD. The double issue 3/4 (1999) was dedicated to the process of start up of Unit 1 of Mochovce. In 'Public administration' there were 2 principal articles published in 1999 on legislative activities of UJD. Contributions about the regulatory activities and the international co-operation of UJD are regularly published in the 'SE Newsletter', and in company journals of 'Mochovce' and 'Bohunice'. National and foreign activities of UJD were published in 3 issues of 'Bulletin of the Slovak Nuclear Society (SNUS)'. This year also the report on safety of nuclear installations of SR was published in the journal of 'European Nuclear Society - Nuclear Europe Worldscan'. For the world information agency, NucNet, there were 4 contributions prepared focusing on both national and foreign activity of UJD. Information material on INES was was prepared and published for the public. In 1999 there were 4 press conferences held at UJD with a follow up presentation of the management of UJD on television and in the radio broadcasting. Officials of UJD had 7 presentations on television and gave 6 interviews for Slovak Radio Broadcasting and for magazines and daily 5 significant interviews. In 1999 a vide-clip was produced for public purposes on the SWISSSLOVAK project. In Bern, Switzerland a very successful press conference was held with the participation of the UJD chairman. The UJD 3 Bulletins prepared and published on national and foreign activities of UJD

Concerns of the National Security Agency (NSA) that information contained in some articles about cryptography in learned and professional journals and in monographs might be inimical to the national security are addressed. The Public Cryptography Study Group, with one dissenting opinion, recommends that a voluntary system of prior review of…

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — A fleet is a group of systems (e.g., cars, aircraft) that are designed and manufactured the same way and are intended to be used the same way. For example, a fleet...

Clean Cities' National Clean Fleets Partnership establishes strategic alliances with large fleets to help them explore and adopt alternative fuels and fuel economy measures to cut petroleum use. The initiative leverages the strength of nearly 100 Clean Cities coalitions, nearly 18,000 stakeholders, and more than 20 years of experience. It provides fleets with top-level support, technical assistance, robust tools and resources, and public acknowledgement to help meet and celebrate fleets' petroleum-use reductions.

Taking an Alternative Route is a 30-page guide for fleet managers and individual owners on using alternative fuels in cars and trucks. Discussed in detail are all fuels authorized for federal credits under the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPAct). The publicationinforms federal and state fleet managers about how to comply with EPAct, and provides information about the Clean Air Act Amendments

Approved for public release; distribution in unlimited. This thesis focuses on Navy Transportation Time performance from ship ate to receipt date. The object is to compare data from a sample of nonechanized ships with summary statistics from the Requisition Response Time anagement Information System. The research effort is directed toward dentifying statistical differences between the two sources of data. The nalysis concentrates on fice major data groups: Transportation Tim...

This section of Information Polity consists of papers presented during the workshop “Rethinking Information Systems in the Public Sector: Bridging Academia and Public Service”. The workshop was held on 8 June 2014 in Tel Aviv, Israel, in conjunction with the European Conference on Information...... Systems (ECIS 2014), and it is part of the activities of the Special Interest Group for eGovernment (SIGeGov) of the Association for Information Systems (AIS)....

In contrast to capital control strategies (i.e., investments in new technology), the potential of operational control strategies (e.g., vehicle scheduling optimization) to reduce the health and climate impacts of the emissions from public transportation bus fleets has not been widely considered. This case study demonstrates that heterogeneity in the emission levels of different bus technologies and the exposure potential of bus routes can be exploited though optimization (e.g., how vehicles are assigned to routes) to minimize these impacts as well as operating costs. The magnitude of the benefits of the optimization depend on the specific transit system and region. Health impacts were found to be particularly sensitive to different vehicle assignments and ranged from worst to best case assignment by more than a factor of 2, suggesting there is significant potential to reduce health impacts. Trade-offs between climate, health, and cost objectives were also found. Transit agencies that do not consider these objectives in an integrated framework and, for example, optimize for costs and/or climate impacts alone, risk inadvertently increasing health impacts by as much as 49%. Cost-benefit analysis was used to evaluate trade-offs between objectives, but large uncertainties make identifying an optimal solution challenging.

The opposition to nuclear energy in Europe evolved along with some collective phenomena, such as the greater preoccupation toward environment, that began primarily in the U. S. Everywhere people are demanding more information and a greater participation in decision-making processes. Controversy is being strengthened by this trend toward ''direct democracy''; this was particularly perceptible in centralized countries such as France, but was also apparent in such federal countries as Germany and Switzerland. Proper information cannot be easily dispensed in such an overheated atmosphere. The role of mass media has been and will be very important, but the media usually prefer broadcasting the alarming rather than the reassuring news. The credibility of information sources is a major point. State-owned utilities (in Britain or France) draw some benefit from their financial independence, although they are considered as responsible for decisions on nuclear projects. Atomic energy commissions and ministerial licensing or controlling bodies remain independent from the industrial companies. Scientific associations are not greatly developed in Europe although the situation is beginning to change. Presently, it seems essential to rely on such intermediate bodies as physicians, politicians, and university professors to inform the man in the street

The PublicInformation Plan is intended to be used in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project Public Participation Plan. The Public Participation Pion describes the DOE procedure for involving the public in the decision-making process related to the UMTRA Project during the stages at which public participation is required and solicited. This PublicInformation Plan describes the department's procedure for communicating with the public about project policies, plans, and activities. Together, these complementary plans describe the DOE public affairs program for the UMTRA Project. This project was authorized by Congress in the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA) of 1978, (Public Law (PL) 95-6041), as amended. The Act provides for a cooperative effort with affected states and Indian tribes for the cleanup of designated abandoned or inactive uranium mill tailings sites, which are located in 10 states, 9 of them west of the Mississippi River. The public has a right to know about proposed government actions and to be heard in the planning of activities that influence their lives. The UMTRA Project is unclassified and the DOE provides accurate information about policy and project activities to interested stakeholders, including the news media, in a timely way. The DOE encourages states and local governments, as well as individuals, to join actively in the decision-making process. This is intended to ensure that the resulting decisions are made with full knowledge of the public's views and that these decisions address the public's concerns to the extent possible within the law. The DOE, through the implementation of the PublicInformation Plan, keeps the publicinformed on matters such as health concerns, environmental issues, remedial action construction plans, project costs, and specific site activities

This paper describes the development of a market research method in order to establish the potential demand for a Personal Real Time Travel Information (PRTTI) concept applied to public transport (PT) in Rio de Janeiro, called InfoRio. In order to receive personal travel information on PT services

The VIPAFLEET project consists in developing models and algorithms for man- aging a fleet of Individual Public Autonomous Vehicles (VIPA). Hereby, we consider a fleet of cars distributed at specified stations in an industrial area to supply internal transportation, where the cars can be used in different modes of circulation (tram mode, elevator mode, taxi mode). One goal is to develop and implement suitable algorithms for each mode in order to satisfy all the requests under an economic point...

This presentation describes the site of Cernavoda-1 NPP, its history, decision making to build it, major public concerns related to NPP operation, fuel fabrication, Interim storage of spent fuel and spent fuel disposal, Transport of radioactive material,Emergency preparedness, Nuclear or radiological accidents. Within this scope the key messages to be communicated to the public are recommended. The public relation groups should communicate all the time with public - trying to send the main message: 'Nobody Wants To Hide Anything. We Are Always Open. Your Good Health Means We Can Still Produce Nuclear Power'

In order to inform the public on radiation and help them to understand the nature of radioactivity it is necessary to relate radiation phenomena to everyday experience and this makes the information more attractive to the media. Visual aids and analogies play an important role in any publicinformation programme. A useful demonstration kit is described and some examples of analogies used are given. the aim of any such programme should be to stimulate interest and understanding and to place radiation hazards in perspective by comparing them with the more familiar hazards of life. (author)

Experience from the TMI accident and the accident at Chernobyl has shown that the population in an affected area quickly tends to take their own decisions and proceed to action spoiling all official emergency planning, if information to the population comes too late and is not adequately formulated. Rapid and understandable information about safety relevance of the emergency according to the INES event scale may be of higher value and effectiveness than any detailed account of the accident. For example, information given about an explosion o n the s i t e of XY NPP may easily become falsified on the dissemination pathway and end up as news about an explosion o f the XY NPP. Suitable accident management today primarily is a question of prompt, competent and adequately presented information through the responsible bodies. Technological emergency management may demand less manpower than the required publicinformation campaign. In the event of an emergency in Europe, one has to reckon with several hundreds of journalists of the various news media gathering on site within short, demands for information coming in from a multitude of European countries or organisations, channeled through the IAEA (EMERCOM) or Brussels (ECURIE), and, last but not least, from the countries' populations. Realising these needs, the AKN decided to organise the seminar and hopes that it will contribute its share to underline the importance of information of the public in the event of a nuclear emergency. (orig/CB) [de

This paper seeks to contribute to an understanding of the changing nature of support and information-seeking practices for women in the transition to first-time motherhood. In the context of increasing digitalisation, the significance of new virtual spaces for parenting is discussed. The paper demonstrates how women seek out alternative forms of expertise (specifically, non-medical expertise) and social support. The author argues for the importance of 'intimate mothering publics' through which women gather experiential information and practical support. These publics can act as a space for women to 'test' or legitimise their new identity as a mother. Intimate mothering publics are particularly useful for thinking about the meaning-making practices and learning experiences that occur during intimate online and face-to-face interactions. A variety of types of online support may be used during pregnancy. Surreptitious support in particular involves users invisibly receiving advice, information and reassurance that might otherwise be lacking. Access to intimate mothering publics is motivated by a number of factors, including feelings of community or acceptance, the desire to be a good mother or parent, emotional support and the need for practical and experiential advice.

ADVANCE was an in-vehicle advanced traveler information system (ATIS) providing route guidance in real time that operated in the northwestern portion and northwest suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. It used probe vehicles to generate dynamically travel ti...

Nuclear Regulatory Authority of the Slovak Republic (UJD) being the central state body of the Slovak Republic provides in the framework of its competence the information on safety of nuclear facilities independently of their operators. UJD enables the public and mass media to review data and information on nuclear facilities. The important point of being informed is to prove, that the area of nuclear energy use has its obligatory rules in the Slovak Republic and their observing is controlled by state through the independent institution - UJD. An establishment of UJD Information Centre as early as in 1995, the basis of conception of informing the public on UJD activities and on nuclear facilities safety was created. The Centre secures the communication with the public and mass media that helps create a positive picture on the independent regulatory authority supervising nuclear safety. Over the last year, the important attention was given to implementation of Act No 211/2000 of Coll. on Free Access to Information that entered into force on 1 January 2001. The Act established the right of the public to access to information at the disposal of state bodies, i.e. inter al ia UJD, territorial self-governing bodies and other bodies managing the public resources. The Act obliges the state bodies to make basic and standard information on their activities automatically public, in order to make the information generally available and to make public administration easier and more transparent. On 4 January 2001 UJD has issued the Regulation on Implementation of Act No 211/2000 of Coll. on Free Access to Information as amended regulating the implementation of the Act in the conditions of UJD. The information boards with the basic data on making information available pursuant to the Act were established in UJD premises in Bratislava and in Trnava. On 4 January 2002, UJD Regulation with emphasised place, time, way and new e-mail contact for making the information available

Full Text Available Purpose: This article informs readers about the theoretical and practical origins of the behaviorally informed interventions (BIPI, analyzes examples of the BIPI from different policy sectors and strategies they offer for policy and regulatory design, and discusses applications and implications of BIPI for public interventions Methodology: This paper is based on a review of literature, as well as an inspection of administrative practices in OECD countries. It encompasses a systematic analysis of scientific papers fromthe SCOPUS database and a query carried out at the library of George Washington University. Findings: The traditional approach to public policy research is based on rational choice theory. It offers limited support, because by assuming perfect rationality of policy decisions, it overlooks existence of systematic errors and biases of human decision-making. The authors argue that behaviorally informedpublic interventions (BIPI might contribute to improving the effectiveness of a number of public measures – regulation, projects, programs, and even entire policies. Practical implications: The behavioral approach allows decision-makers to better understand the decisions and behaviors of citizens, as well as to design more effective interventions with minimum effort by adapting the existing solutions to real decision mechanisms of citizens. Originality: By combining the concepts of traditional approach with the growing behavioral approach, the authors aim to propose a new theoretical framework (BIPI to be used as a tool for policy design, delivery and evaluation.

The accident at CHERNOBYL highlighted one of the major problems facing the nuclear industry at present and during the years to come: the need to provide information. There are two aspects to this requirement: information at a time of crisis issued when an accident such as that at CHERNOBYL takes place, but which has to be based on a procedure set up before the crisis, and advance and permanent information which prepares the ground for information at a time of crisis. The requirement for information is of particular importance in France, given the preponderance of nuclear energy in the electricity generating industry. The procedure covers the principles which were forcefully asserted by the French public authorities during the CHERNOBYL crisis, the resources strengthened or established at that time, and finally, the introduction of a policy of wider-ranging communication which is based on the idea that one can never compromise with safety

Analyzes a recent instance of focus group research applied to a public relations case (rather than a marketing case). Reviews the advantages and disadvantages of this qualitative method, and describes the case of a county department of mental health relying on focus group research to help plan a program aimed at reducing the stigma of mental…

This is a slide presentation dealing with the publicinformation (PI) activities in Japan. At present in Japan 51 nuclear power plants are in commercial operation contributing with a capacity of about 440 G We, i.e. 1/3 of the total electricity is produced by nuclear power. An investigation conducted by Advisory Committee for Energy resulted in the following guidelines in the advancing the Nuclear Power Policy: - maintain transparency in determining policy and reflect the voice of people, making information available to the public; - promote mutual understanding between areas that produce electricity by nuclear power and those that consume electricity; - cultivate an awareness of energy issues amongst the public to encourage them to take issues regarding Japan's energy policy to heart. Concerning the current PI, the following actions are undertaken at a nationwide scale: - for all people, supplying information by mass media, internet and holding lecture meetings and panel discussions etc; - for women, advertisements in journals; - for youth, educational materials, exhibition of energy etc; - for teachers, seminars; for opinion leaders, sending newsletters on nuclear energy. In areas for planned or constructed nuclear plants the PI actions are addressed to all people, women, fishermen, farmers and opinion leaders. There are given the responses to the following three questions addressed to the public concerning the nuclear power: - do you think whether we need nuclear power plants? - do you think whether nuclear power plants are safe? - what mechanism do you think generates energy during the production of nuclear power. A discussion of the results is presented. As future objectives of PI activities the following are in view: to cultivate reliability, to aware of information about nuclear power, to promote awareness of nuclear power, to promote mutual understanding of nuclear power. In conclusion, the need is stressed to make the PI activities more effective, to find

The works realized by this working group show some strong conclusions. The citizen confidence in the information access availability must be reinforced. The existence of secrets protecting the industrialists and the Nation interests seems all the more legitimate since they are well limited.The respect of the industrial and commercial secret is not an opposition to a better access to the nuclear safety documents. The defense secret is an indispensable element of the nuclear safety but its role and limits must be debated. (A.L.B.)

Barwood Cab Fleet Study Summary is the second in a new series called''Alternative Fuel Information Case Studies,'' designed to present real-world experiences with alternative fuels to fleet managers and other industry stakeholders

A new design ―project preparation‖ preparing for the group formation in problem based project work is proposed and investigated. The main problem is to overcome group formation based on existing relations. The hypothesis is that theme development and group formation are somewhat counterproductive...

Following the nuclear power controversy in the Swedish general election of 1976, a group of technical employees of ASEA-Atom formed an action group for nuclear power information. This was a spontaneous move in which management was not involved. The object was to provide a balance to uninformed campaigns by 'environmental' action groups. The level of political activity among technical personnel is low, but once the threshold has been crossed the desire for information by the public has been shown to be great. It has however been difficult to obtain a hearing in radio, TV or the national press. The local press has on the other hand proved open. While no significant effect among the public can be demonstrated, there seems to have been some influence on politicians. There has been contact with corresponding organisations in Denmark, Finland and the UK, and in the Federal Republic of Germany in July 1978 a European Energy Association was formed to balance such organisations as European Environmental Bureau. (JIW)

The American Lung Association (ALA), the nation's oldest voluntary health organization, is dedicated to the conquest of lung disease and the promotion of lung health. The objective of the ALA Radon PublicInformation Program is to reduce public exposure to elevated indoor radon levels through implementing grassroots-based radon public awareness campaigns by 22 local ALA groups. The program, which is funded by a grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), was initiated in December 1989; the first phase will continue until May, 1991. Activities of local Lung Associations include distribution of free or reduced-cost radon kits; presenting programs in elementary and secondary schools; presenting information on TV news series and talk shows, and on radio Public Service Announcements and talk shows; presenting articles and feature stories in the print media; holding conferences, workshops, and displays at fairs and other exhibitions; distributing radon fact sheets through libraries and utility company mailings; and distributing videos through video chains and libraries. The local Lung Associations also serve as promoters for the EPA/Advertising Council Radon Public Service Announcement Campaign. We will highlight the activities of the groups in communicating radon health risks to the public; we will describe the results obtained and will attempt to evaluate the merits of the various approaches on the basis of the initial results

Although Dr. Milan Hauner's study 'Stalin's Big Fleet program' has focused primarily on the formation of Big Fleets during the Tsarist and Soviet periods of Russia's naval history, there are important lessons...

Full Text Available The aim of this research was to analyze the effects of the participation of health, education and religious professionals in public conversation groups with LGBT people. Participants were interviewed some weeks after the groups for feedback. Professionals declared that this dialogic method (known as Public Conversations Project allowed a qualification of their practices, awareness about the challenges of talking about gender and sexual diversity at their professional’s contexts, and a broader contact with narratives of violence and discrimination against LGBT people. The structure of dialogue allowed participants to talk and listen in a less evaluative context. Differences in the effects produced by each group are discussed in relation to the differences in the group composition and to the specificities of the health, educational and religious contexts.

A new design ―project preparation‖ preparing for the group formation in problem based project work is proposed and investigated. The main problem is to overcome group formation based on existing relations. The hypothesis is that theme development and group formation are somewhat counterproductive....... Following research based design methodology an experiment separating the two was initiated.This was to provide for more openness and creativity in contrast to a design in which existing relations seem predominant....

Highly automated driving (HAD) requires maps not only of high spatial precision but also of yet unprecedented actuality. Traditionally small highly specialized fleets of measurement vehicles are used to generate such maps. Nevertheless, for achieving city-wide or even nation-wide coverage, automated map update mechanisms based on very large vehicle fleet data gain importance since highly frequent measurements are only to be obtained using such an approach. Furthermore, the processing of imprecise mass data in contrast to few dedicated highly accurate measurements calls for a high degree of automation. We present a method for the generation of lane-accurate road network maps from vehicle trajectory data (GPS or better). Our approach therefore allows for exploiting today's connected vehicle fleets for the generation of HAD maps. The presented algorithm is based on elementary building blocks which guarantees useful lane models and uses a Reversible Jump Markov chain Monte Carlo method to explore the models parameters in order to reconstruct the one most likely emitting the input data. The approach is applied to a challenging urban real-world scenario of different trajectory accuracy levels and is evaluated against a LIDAR-based ground truth map.

FleetDASH helps federal fleet managers maximize their use of alternative fuel. This presentation explains how the dashboard works and demonstrates the newest capabilities added to the tool. It also reviews complementary online tools available to fleet managers on the Alternative Fuel Data Center.

We as Health Physicists face what, at many times, appears to be a hopeless task. The task simply stated is informing the public about the risks (or lack thereof) of radiation. Unfortunately, the public has perceived radiation risks to be much greater than they actually are. An example of this problem is shown in a paper by Arthur C. Upton. Three groups of people -- the League of Women Voters, students, and Business and Professional Club members -- were asked to rank 30 sources of risk according to their contribution to the number of deaths in the United States. Not surprisingly, they ranked nuclear power much higher and medical x-rays much lower than the actual values. In addition to the perception problem, we are faced with another hurdle: health physicists as communicators. Members of the Health Physics Society (HPS) found that the communication styles of most health physicists appear to be dissimilar to those of the general public. These authors administered the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator to the HPS Baltimore-Washington Chapter. This test, a standardized test for psychological type developed by Isabel Myers, ask questions that provide a quantitative measure of our natural preferences in four areas. Assume that you as a health physicist have the necessary skills to communicate information about radiation to the public. Health physicists do nothing with these tools. Most people involved in radiation protection do not get involved with publicinformation activies. What I will attempt to do is heighten your interest in such activities. I will share information about publicinformation activities in which I have been involved and give you suggestions for sources of information and materials. 2 refs., 1 tab

configuration affect diffusion of innovation. This study presents an agent-based model (ABM) to simulate the rational decision-making, psychological behavior, and social interaction of people to explore their reaction to policy scenarios toward adopting technological changes over time. The aim of model......In most developing countries, over-aged vehicles play a significant role in energy demand and air pollution, which make the transportation sector a suitable choice for investigating opportunities to mitigate climate change. Apparently, people heterogeneity, social influence, and network...... is to assist policymakers for energy and environmental policy design based on consumers’ behavior. The jeepney owners in the old public utility jeepney (PUJ) fleet in Metro Manila are chosen as case study to prove the applicability of the model. The results show that rational, psychological, and social...

Be it to restore the confused image of clinical research in relation to the lay public, or to develop new ways of accruing healthy volunteers or patients for clinical trials, there is a need to draft some guidance on how best to provide information on research. Although the French legal and regulatory armamentarium in this area is essentially liberal, there is currently little-justified reluctance among study sponsors to advertise publicly. A group of academic and pharmaceutical industry researchers, assembled for a workshop, together with regulators, journalists, representatives from ethics committees, social security, patient and health consumer groups and other French institutional bodies, has suggested the following series of recommendations: there is no need for additional legal or regulatory constraints; sponsors should be aware of and make use of direct publicinformation on trials; a 'good practice charter' on public communication about clinical trials should be developed; all professionals should be involved in this communication platform; communication in the patient's immediate vicinity should be preferred (primary-care physician, local press); clinical databases and websites accessible to professionals, but also to patients and non-professionals, should be developed; genuine instruction on clinical trials for physicians and health professionals unfamiliar with such trials should be developed and disseminated; media groups should receive at least some training in the fundamentals of clinical research.

Customers want high-quality products at low prices, and they want them now. The message is clear: The Public compares perceived alternatives. The communication problem of the nuclear industry is the same as any other nonmonopoly provider of products or services, i.e., to show the public that nuclear electricity is superior even though nuclear electricity itself is indistinguishable from any other electricity. The following topics are discussed in this paper: (1) What the public needs in general; (2) what the public wants of information delivered; (3) the nuclear information that the public wants; (4) the ANS publicinformation web page; and (5) wider use of issues information

The problems in the field of risk to inform the public are the difference in the risk perception by the public, between the risk realities and the image the public makes in himself, the confidence of the public towards those that give information, the readability ( and then understanding) of the information, the easiness for the public to forget the information. Solutions can be summarized by the same way: durability of information actions, information elaborated by safety authority, inhabitants associations, risk generator, elected members, supports of information clear and understandable. (N.C.)

Spectroscopy concerns itself with the ways in which the Hamiltonian and other interesting operators defined in few-particle spaces are determined or determine properties of many-particle systems. But the action of the central limit theorem (CLT) filters the transmission of information between source and observed so whether propagating forward from a few-particle defining space, as is usual in theoretical studies, or projecting backward to it from measured things, each is only sensitive to averaged properties of the other. Our concern is with the propagation of spectroscopic information in the presence of good symmetries when filtering action of the CLT is effective. Specifically, we propose to address the question, What propagates and how. We begin with some examples, using both scalar and isospin geometries to illustrate simple propagation. Examples of matrix propagation are studied; contact with standard tensor algebra is established and an algorithm put forward for the expansion of any operator in terms of another set, complete or not; shell-model results for 20 Ne using a realistic interaction and two trace-equivalent forms are presented; and some further challenges are mentioned

This publication is a handbook for water pollution control personnel to guide them towards a successful public relations program. This handbook was written to incorporate the latest methods of teaching basic publicinformation techniques to the non-professional in this area. Contents include: (1) a rationale for a publicinformation program; (2)…

This textbook is the first one addressing quantum information from the viewpoint of group symmetry. Quantum systems have a group symmetrical structure. This structure enables to handle systematically quantum information processing. However, there is no other textbook focusing on group symmetry for quantum information although there exist many textbooks for group representation. After the mathematical preparation of quantum information, this book discusses quantum entanglement and its quantification by using group symmetry. Group symmetry drastically simplifies the calculation of several entanglement measures although their calculations are usually very difficult to handle. This book treats optimal information processes including quantum state estimation, quantum state cloning, estimation of group action and quantum channel etc. Usually it is very difficult to derive the optimal quantum information processes without asymptotic setting of these topics. However, group symmetry allows to derive these optimal solu...

The existing theoretical framework for research in management information systems (MIS) is criticized for its lack of attention to the external environment of organizations, and a new framework is developed which better accommodates MIS in public organizations: public management information systems. Four models of publicness that reflect external…

The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 assigned to the Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Civilian Waste Management the responsibility for disposing of high-level waste and spent fuel. A significant part of that responsibility involves transporting nuclear waste materials within the federal waste management system; that is, from the waste generator to the repository. The lead responsibility for transportation operations has been assigned to Oak Ridge Operations, with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) providing technical support through the Transportation Operations Support Task Group. One of the ORNL support activities involves assessing what facilities, equipment and services are required to assure that an acceptable, cost-effective and safe transportation operations system can be designed, operated and maintained. This study reviews, surveys and assesses the experience of Nuclear Assurance Corporation (NAC) in operating a fleet of spent-fuel shipping casks to aid in developing the spent-fuel transportation system

Full Text Available to set up in time for scenarios which require real time information. This may force communications to utilise public infrastructure. Securing communications for military mobile and Web based systems over public networks poses a greater challenge compared...

As previous works performed by the CODIRPA proposed the creation of Centres for public reception and information (CAIs) within the population protection area, and as local groups have been created in three districts (Vienne, Haut-Rhin, Drome) to work on the preparation of the implementation of such centres, this report proposes a synthesis of these previous works, examines the doctrine related to the support to victims of collective accidents by the ministry of interior and by the ministry of justice, and finally makes recommendations and proposals for the implementation of CAIs in a post-accidental situation

Liner shipping fleet repositioning consists of moving vessels between services in a liner ship- ping network in order to better orient the overall network to the world economy, and to ensure the proper maintenance of vessels. Thus, fleet repositioning involves sailing and loading activities subject...

A series of viewgraphs were presented to illustrate this discussion which focused on the economics of the railroad environment in 2001 and beyond. Fleet productivity and customer relations were described. The viewgraphs were entitled: new car builds; fleet demographics for North American LPG/AA fleet; and, issues and trends of North American LPG/AA fleet. It was noted that there is a continued demand for North American LPG/AA fleet as cars are phased out. GE Capital Rail Services is addressing the future by focusing on the following four initiatives: service, globalization, building a six sigma company, and transforming into an e-business. The company's six sigma approach is based on customer orientation, safety and compliance, quality and reliability, productivity and planning, cost, and people and culture. The actions taken thus far have been a planned maintenance program, the relocation of safety valves, and the elimination of early failures. figs.

Full Text Available Formulation of the problem. If public relations as a phenomenon of information management are examined, we deal with the question of knowledge content and nature of relationship of PR with environment, ability to manage the perception and attitude of people to events in the environment; ensure priority of information over other resources. Goal. To investigate the concept of "public relations" of foreign and domestic experts; consider the typology of the public and the "laws" of public opinion; define the basic principles according to which relations with public should be built, and to identify PR activities as a kind of social communication. Conclusions. Public relations on the basis of advanced information and communication technologies create fundamentally new opportunities for information control and influence on public consciousness.

The 60 year life of a reactor means that a plant will undergo change during its life. To ensure continuing safety, changes must be made with a full understanding of the design intent. With this aim, regulators require that each operating organisation should have a formally designated entity responsible for complete design knowledge in regard to plant safety. INSAG-19 calls such an entity 'Design Authority'. This requirement is difficult to achieve, especially as the number of countries and utilities operating plants increases. Some of these operating organisations will be new, and some will be small. For Gen III plants sold on a turnkey basis, it is even more challenging for the operating company to develop and retain the full knowledge needed for this role. CORDEL's Task Force entitled 'Design Change Management' is investigating options for effective design change management with the aim to support design standardization throughout a fleet's lifetime by means of enhanced international cooperation within industry and regulators. This paper starts with considering the causes of design change and identifies reasons for the increased beneficial involvement of the plant's original vendor in the design change process. A key central theme running through the paper is the definition of responsibilities for design change. Various existing mechanisms of vendor-operator interfaces over design change and how they are managed in different organisational and regulatory environments around the world are considered, with the functionality of Owners Groups and Design Authority being central. The roles played in the design change process by vendors, utilities, regulators, owners' groups and other organisations such as WANO are considered The aerospace industry approach to Design Authority has been assessed to consider what lessons might be learned. (authors)

Full text of publication follows: What is new in publicinformation in the nuclear industry? With developments such as deregulation in the United States, the ever-changing global energy market, and constant scientific and technological advances, publicinformation programs are more important than ever. Co-sponsored by the American Nuclear Society (ANS) PublicInformation Committee, panelists will present news of innovations in a broad spectrum of areas. These include the new research on the views of public opinion leaders about nuclear energy, the new ANS PublicInformation Web site, volunteer outreach by nuclear professionals at the local level, publicinformation innovations at nuclear utilities, unique international programs, an update on the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's strategic plan for public confidence, and recent changes at the U.S. Department of Energy. Invited presentations: New ANS PublicInformation Web Site International Programs (Emmy Roos (ETCetera)); ANS Teacher Workshops and the Northern Ohio Section's Highly Successful Implementation of Them (Chuck Vincent (ANS)); Innovations at Exelon (David Knox (Exelon)) Innovative PublicInformation Center Programs (Lauretta Kerchma-Olson (Nucl Mgt, Two Rivers))

The molding of public opinion by media, concerning nuclear energy, is analyzed, and the assumptions such as: nuclear plants equal atomic bombs or 'nuclear plants, no thanks', are emphasized. A response to this media hammering in Spain has been developed through teachers' education seminars organized by the Spanish Atomic forum and the Book on Energy, edited by specialized educators

Group decision making has attracted much scientific interest, but few studies have investigated group decisions that do not get made. Based on the Motivated Information Processing in Groups model, this study analysed the effect of epistemic motivation (low vs. high) and social motivation (proself

The Marine Corps have 10 years of experience implementing a telematics program and several lessons to share with partner agencies. This presentation details results of a Marine Corps survey as well as methods of using telematics to promote fleet efficiency and optimize the vehicle acquisition process.

face the challenge of advancing their policy-making practices to take advantage of these new developments. Many new tools and instruments are available that can help to improve policy-making, yet little is known about their costs, benefits, or contribution. The objective of this panel is to advance our......Policies are traditionally developed by experts with limited forms of stakeholder involvement. New technologies can change policy making practice through new methods of citizens’ engagement. As a result, the traditional boundaries between governments and the public are also changing. Policy makers...

The history of providing publicinformation on nuclear energy in Canada for more than 40 years is described. Information centers are part of all nuclear power plants and they receive many thousands of visitors each year. Until the 1970s publicinformation programs were relatively easy. There was a lot of interest in nuclear energy, and there was little debate about it or opposition to it. But times have changed, and Canadian publicinformation strategies and tactics have evolved to meet challenge of answering increasing public concerns. In the past 20 years Canada has gone through three phases in relationship with the public: information, communication, participation. Activities on implementation of these phases are outlined

This indexed bibliography lists publications and presentations of the Information Center Complex, Information Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, from 1971 through 1980. The 659 entries cover such topics as toxicology, air and water pollution, management and transportation of hazardous wastes, energy resources and conservation, and information science. Publications range in length from 1 page to 3502 pages and include topical reports, books, journal articles, fact sheets, and newsletters. Author, title, and group indexes are provided. Annual updates are planned

Through gradual evolution and successful performance, the WIPP Communications group has gained respect and recognition as a dual service organization that offers numerous benefits to a technical project. Westinghouse assembled a team that has successfully coordinated and encouraged an exchange of information not only with the publicinformation realm but also as a project service and function. WIPP has combined educational services, external and employee communication and publicinformation into one unit called ''Communications''

This indexed bibliography lists publications and presentations of the Information Center Complex, Information Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, from 1971 through 1980. The 659 entries cover such topics as toxicology, air and water pollution, management and transportation of hazardous wastes, energy resources and conservation, and information science. Publications range in length from 1 page to 3502 pages and include topical reports, books, journal articles, fact sheets, and newsletters. Author, title, and group indexes are provided. Annual updates are planned.

This is a presentation involving a description of the main guidelines and conditions under which nuclear activities have been performed in Argentina, both concerning the autonomous development for the peaceful use of nuclear energy and with regard to the way in which the community was informed of the attained levels. The particulars of each approach are shown as to delineate historical evolution as a function of the various stages of technological development. (author)

This paper reports on the results of an empirical study of Danish public librarians’ conceptions of information literacy and user education in order to support and optimize lifelong learning of library users. The study builds on data from interviews of purposely selected public librarians...... and a large-scale e-mail survey (questionnaire). The results show that the public librarians consider the public library an important place for learning, but also that they do not share a common understanding of the concepts of information literacy and lifelong learning. The study further reveals a diversity...

The principle goal of this project was to enhance and expand the analytical modeling methodology previously developed as part of the Fleet Management Criteria: Disposal Points and Utilization Rates project completed in 2010. The enhanced and ex...

As a result of the accident at Three Mile Island on March 28, 1979, increased emphasis has been placed on the publicinformation capabilities of utility companies, and particularly their crisis publicinformation procedures. A special industry task force was assigned to develop a generic model for a utility crisis publicinformation plan. This report has been prepared not as a literal emergency plan for a utility, but as a generic check-off list of items and procedures that a utility should consider as a part of its own plan. Because of considerable variations in service areas, utility organization, and other factors, specific approaches may vary from utility to utility. The approaches cited here are generic suggestions that would help lead to an industrywide ability to inform the public, quickly and accurately, about non-routine events that it would consider of importance

In a revised edition, this book covers all aspects of public health informatics, and discusses the creation and management of an information technology infrastructure that is essential in linking state and local organizations in their efforts to gather data.

Full Text Available This paper exposes the legal nature and the usefulness of the right to information, is special in the case of Mexico. So it will be a study of the right to publicinformation, in order to understand its origin and utility; then analyze the establishment and evolution in Mexican positive and discover its use as a mechanism for transparent use of public resources and the accountability of the State authorities.

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Draft National Conversation on Public Health and Chemical Exposures Work Group Reports; Opportunity for Public Comment AGENCY.../nationalconversation/work_groups.html . For additional information on the National Conversation on Public Health and...

Full Text Available Major changes in information technologies characterize the current period through which humanity creates the conditions shift from information society to the knowledge. In this context of the changing of the public administration through the implementation of ITC and the reform that lead to the new public management, our paper wants to see the development of E-governance in Romanian local public administration and the influence of the main financial indicators on e-governance elements. Countries adopt e-governance in ways that reinforce traditional bureaucratic structures, cultures and links from administration to citizens and politics, in some cases making these traditional forms more responsive. The paper studies the accounting information disclosed on the internet sites of public sector entities. The research use an empirical approach to test impact of the quality of accounting information on e-financial reporting in public sector. The research use a quantitative methodology, based on surveys and author's observations. The methods chosen in this paper are reliable for this empirical study that tries to identify at a national level the problems that could improve the financial information disclosed by the public sector. The paper aims to measure the financial performance in local public administration and the main indicators of e-governance. The main objective of the paper is to make a model that demonstrates the impact of the local public administration financial performance on the e-governance. Due to the fact that the main problem of the Romanian local public administration is the lack of performance tools that could improve the e-governance, the research wants use an empirical approach to test the impact of the financial performance on the local public administration on e-governance. The research use a quantitative methodology, based on surveys and author's observations.

Increased information availability, timeliness, and comprehensiveness through health information exchange (HIE) can support public health practice. The potential benefits to disease monitoring, disaster response, and other public health activities served as an important justification for the US' investments in HIE. After several years of HIE implementation and funding, we sought to determine if any of the anticipated benefits of exchange participation were accruing to state and local public health practitioners participating in five different exchanges. Using qualitative interviews and template analyses, we identified public health efforts and activities that were improved by participation in HIE. HIE supported public health activities consistent with expectations in the literature. However, no single department realized all the potential benefits of HIE identified. These findings suggest ways to improve HIE usage in public health.

Regional Center of PublicInformation in Northwest region of Russian Federation is a part of the State Regional Educational Center of Ministry of the Russian Federation for atomic energy in St.-Petersburg, Russia (http://graph.runnet.ru/). This Center of PublicInformation (CPI) provides a wide range of information dealing with the nuclear power. The objectives of the CPI are: to conduct informational and educational activities so as to form a positive attitude toward atomic energy and nuclear technologies; to provide the population with a means reliable information about objects of potential risk; to organize an active exchange of the information with enterprises using nuclear technologies in the region. The main topics of informational support are these: electricity production, the ground of nuclear power, new Russian nuclear reactors, nuclear safety, nuclear power and environment, radioactivity, Leningrad nuclear power plant, responsibilities in nuclear engineering. (author)

Full Text Available “Enhanced publications” are commonly intended as digital publications that consist of a mandatory narrative part (the description of the research conducted plus related “parts”, such as datasets, other publications, images, tables, workflows, devices. The state-of-the-art on information systems for enhanced publications has today reached the point where some kind of common understanding is required, in order to provide the methodology and language for scientists to compare, analyse, or simply discuss the multitude of solutions in the field. In this paper, we thoroughly examined the literature with a two-fold aim: firstly, introducing the terminology required to describe and compare structural and semantic features of existing enhanced publication data models; secondly, proposing a classification of enhanced publicationinformation systems based on their main functional goals.

... disclosure of the information. Activities must be prepared to present a sound legal basis in support of their...) FOIA handbook. The Department of the Army Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Act (DA FOIA/PA) Office shall prepare, in addition to FOIA regulations, a handbook for the use of the public in obtaining...

This policy framework provides guidelines for federal agencies on public access to government electronic information. Highlights include reasons for disseminating information; defining user groups; which technology to use; pricing flexibility; security and privacy issues; and the private sector and state and local government roles. (LRW)

In order to enable fleet managers to make the appropriate decisions concerning buying, selling, renting, leasing or repairing vehicles, information about ownership and operating cost and utilization are important. Fleet management tools are now available in the heavy construction industry. The author describes one such fleet management services customized for the utility industry: FleetEdge. This system utilizes current and future technologies to enable the managers to take proactive or predictive approaches to fleet management. An example of a company that has opted for this system was reviewed: Reliant Energy-Houston Metro. The data collection process was explained. A mini-computer processor is fitted on the equipment, and the requested monitoring parameters in turn determine the variety of sensors and alarms to be selected. Location can also be monitored through the use of Global Positioning System (GPS) equipment. The parameters normally include low engine oil pressure, high engine operating temperature, high transmission operating temperature, high hydraulic oil temperature, engine hours. Wireless data transfer is effected via cellular or satellite networks. The data is then collected and checked for errors and format at a hub before going to the computer server through the Internet. Information is transmitted from the accounting system to fleet management service through a secure interface. The data is then configured to meet the client's needs. It results in up to date, understandable information to the client. Equipment utilization, downtime and cost by machine or category is easily accessible and printed if required. Fleet equipment status is provided, as well as hourly cost analysis. Other reports are also available. 2 tabs., 2 figs.

The On-Road Vehicle and Engine Emission Regulations came into effect on January 1, 2004. The regulations introduced more stringent national emission standards for on-road vehicles and engines, and also required that companies submit reports containing information concerning the company's fleets. This report presented a summary of the regulatory requirements relating to nitric oxide (NO x ) fleet average emissions for light-duty vehicles, light-duty trucks, and medium-duty passenger vehicles under the new regulations. The effectiveness of the Canadian fleet average NO x emission program at achieving environmental performance objectives was also evaluated. A summary of the fleet average NO x emission performance of individual companies was presented, as well as the overall Canadian fleet average of the 2004 model year based on data submitted by companies in their end of model year reports. A total of 21 companies submitted reports covering 2004 model year vehicles in 10 test groups, comprising 1,350,719 vehicles of the 2004 model year manufactured or imported for the purpose of sale in Canada. The average NO x value for the entire Canadian LDV/LDT fleet was 0.2016463 grams per mile. The average NO x values for the entire Canadian HLDT/MDPV fleet was 0.321976 grams per mile. It was concluded that the NO x values for both fleets were consistent with the environmental performance objectives of the regulations for the 2004 model year. 9 tabs

Full Text Available The article is devoted to the airline scheduling process and methods of its modeling. This article describes the main stages of airline scheduling process (scheduling, fleet assignment, revenue management, operations, their features and interactions. The main part of scheduling process is fleet assignment. The optimal solution of the fleet assignment problem enables airlines to increase their incomes up to 3 % due to quality improving of connections and execution of the planned number of flights operated by less number of aircraft than usual or planned earlier. Fleet assignment of scheduling process is examined and Conventional Leg-Based Fleet Assignment Model is analyzed. Finally strong and weak aspects of the model (SWOT are released and applied. The article gives a critical analysis of FAM model, with the purpose of identi- fying possible options and constraints of its use (for example, in cases of short-term and long-term planning, changing the schedule or replacing the aircraft, as well as possible ways to improve the model.

Many challenges face the nuclear industry, especially in the waste management area. One of the biggest challenges is effective communication with the general public. Technical complexity, combined with the public's lack of knowledge and negative emotional response, complicate clear communication of radioactive waste management issues. The purpose of this session is to present and discuss methods for overcoming these obstacles and effectively transmitting technical information as publicinformation. The methods presented encompass audio, visual, and print approaches to message transmission. To support these methods, the author also discusses techniques, based on current research, for improving the communication process

Health information exchange (HIE) can support several aspects of public health practice by increasing the availability, timeliness, and comprehensiveness individual-level patient information. The potential benefits to disease monitoring, disaster response, and other public health activities served...... as an important justification for the US’ investments in HIE. After several years of HIE implementation and funding, we sought to determine if any of the anticipated benefits of exchange participation were accruing to state and local public health practitioners participating in five different exchanges. Using...... qualitative interviews and template analyses, we identified public health efforts and activities that were improved by participation in HIE. We derived the codes for the template analysis through a literature review. HIE supported public health activities consistent with expectations in the literature...

Full Text Available The research team focuses in the influence that Argentinian public libraries (popular and public have with library automation and public services oriented to the use of information technologies, and the acquisition of communitarian information skills within the information society. The methodology consists of a survey already successfully approved in previous investigations by the research team (UBACYT FI013 and TF06. The questionnaire focuses on related variables. On one hand, the variables were related to libraries automation processes (equipment, information systems,working modules, retrospective conversion, digitization, networks,and so on. And on the other hand, with given information technologies services (access to networks and documents in every media, Web navigation assistance, information technology local server, services to minorities, and so on. Data would be gathered with specific applications from the social sciences field. The final stage would be to study specific aspects of the automation processes of the libraries surveyed, in order to verify the reciprocal relationship between the automation level reached. And subsequently, to examine the likelihood of establishing new services that respond to the community information trends within the information technology and telecommunications development context.

The works realized by this working group show some strong conclusions. The citizen confidence in the information access availability must be reinforced. The existence of secrets protecting the industrialists and the Nation interests seems all the more legitimate since they are well limited.The respect of the industrial and commercial secret is not an opposition to a better access to the nuclear safety documents. The defense secret is an indispensable element of the nuclear safety but its role and limits must be debated. (A.L.B.)

Full Text Available This paper gives insights into the opportunities offered by the Bluetooth technology. Bluetooth advertising proves to be a cheap and strong tool for enriching and improving the experience offered by a public transport system, by delivering dense and essential information about topics of interest. Alongside the Java platform, new applications can be designed and implemented to make use of the already available Bluetooth technology incorporated in devices in the target public’s custody. The paper sets focus on the segment of ready to be made available content regarding general information about the routes and timetables of the vehicles integrated in a public transport system.

The unique capabilities of the IAEA illicit trafficking database is used to provide information on and assesment of illicit trafficking and other unauthorized activities involving nuclear and other radioactive materials to national authorities in charge of nuclear security of major public events. The information communicated to state parties cooperating with IAEA is on incidences confirmed to the agency on illicit trafficking of nuclear and other radioactive materials and also incidences reported in open sources which have not been confirmed.

Full text: The publicinformation is important for the effective implementation of countermeasures in case of a nuclear or radiation accident. The nature of publicinformation during an accident is twofold, i.e. informing the public in the affected area and informing the general public in other (not directly affected) areas in the country. The general principles of publicinformation, based an EU and IAEA requirements, are given, and the implementation of there principles in Slovenia is described. The Slovenian experience refers to the preparedness phase which contains measures taken to inform the public and to the response phase where the arrangements for publicinformation have been tested in order to assure the public trust in the official information. The EU Council Directive an informing the general public focuses mainly an the population which is likely to be affected in the event of a radiological emergency. The European Commission issued the commission communication providing the information an implementation of the aforementioned directive. While the directive addresses only the population which is likely to be affected, the communication proposes a clear distinction between the regional or local population, for which there are regional or local intervention plans relating to fixed installations, and the population as a whole. In the Council Decision 87/600/Euratom stipulates that the information which should be supplied to the commission and the affected member states in case the member state decides to take the measures of a widespread nature in order to protect the general public during the radiological emergency should contain 'the measures taken, or planned, to inform the public'. The IAEA safety standards series 'Preparedness and Response for a Nuclear or Radiological Emergency' requires arrangements to provide information an the response to a nuclear or radiological emergency to the population within the urgent protective action planning zone even

We study the interaction between pricing, frequency of service and information provision by public transport firms offering scheduled services, and we do so under various regulatory regimes. The model assumes that users can come to the bus stop or rail station at random or they can plan their trips...

The article deals with agreements between the administration and citizens, which play a considerable part in public commercial law and in atomic energy law. The legal basis can be the doctrine of administrative legal relationship, which clarifies the reciprocity and multilaterality of the legal relationship. In the future informal administrative acts will have an increasing meaning. (CW) [de

This paper is an analysis of how African traditional communication and the literature produced about it portray African traditional communication. The analysis premises an interest to ascertain whether the portrayal is in a perspective showing traditional media as capable of playing expected publicinformation role. Drawing ...

The paper discusses the importance of publicinformation and education in the field of energy and particularly in the field of nuclear power development. The attempt is maid to explain some issues connected with the nuclear fuel cycle. Appendix contains comments on the United Kingdom educational materials in this area.

The paper discusses the importance of publicinformation and education in the field of energy and particularly in the field of nuclear power development. The attempt is made to explain some issues connected with the nuclear fuel cycle. Appendix contains comments on the United Kingdom educational materials in this area

The paper discusses the importance of publicinformation and education in the field of energy and particularly in the field of nuclear power development. The attempt is maid to explain some issues connected with the nuclear fuel cycle. Appendix contains comments on the United Kingdom educational materials in this area

The main objective of this study was to correlate Information Communication Technology with public primary schools' efficiency in Rwanda. The study employed the descriptive survey and descriptive co-relational design. One hundred and forty-four primary teachers participated in the study. The level of ICT was poor (M ...

A comprehensive Federal Fleet Management Handbook that builds upon the "Guidance for Federal Agencies on E.O. 13514 Section 12-Federal Fleet Management" and provides information to help fleet managers select optimal greenhouse gas and petroleum reduction strategies for each location, meeting or exceeding related fleet requirements, acquiring vehicles to support these strategies while minimizing fleet size and vehicle miles traveled, and refining strategies based on agency performance.

Full Text Available Abstract Objective To explore whether there is a potential for greater use of research-based information in public health practice in a local setting. Secondly, if research-based information is relevant, to explore the extent to which this generates questioning behaviour. Design Qualitative study using focus group discussions, observation and interviews. Setting Public health practices in Norway. Participants 52 public health practitioners. Results In general, the public health practitioners had a positive attitude towards research-based information, but believed that they had few cases requiring this type of information. They did say, however, that there might be a potential for greater use. During five focus groups and six observation days we identified 28 questions/cases where it would have been appropriate to seek out research evidence according to our definition. Three of the public health practitioners identified three of these 28 cases as questions for which research-based information could have been relevant. This gap is interpreted as representing unrecognised information needs. Conclusions There is an unrealised potential in public health practice for more frequent and extensive use of research-based information. The practitioners did not appear to reflect on the need for scientific information when faced with new cases and few questions of this type were generated.

... facilitate entry into the building. Additionally, the public may inspect comments received on the World Wide Web, at http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubeval . FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Louise Wilde, Science... should be addressed to Forest Service, USDA, Southern Research Station, Science Delivery Group, 200 W.T...

In an incomplete market setting with heterogeneous prior beliefs, I show that publicinformation and strike price of option have substantial infl‡uence on asset pricing in option markets, by investigating an absolute option pricing model with negative exponential utility investors and normally...... distributed dividend. I demonstrate that heterogeneous prior variances give rise to the economic value of option markets. Investors speculate in option market and publicinformation improves allocational efficiency of markets only when there is heterogeneity in prior variance. Heterogeneity in mean is neither...... a necessary nor sufficient condition for generating speculations in option markets. With heterogeneous beliefs, options are non-redundant assets which can facilitate side-betting and enable investors to take advantage of the disagreements and the differences in con…dence. This fact leads to a higher growth...

A proliferation of recent literature provides substantial direction as to the key ingredients-target groups, messages and methods, and evaluation-of local-level, public interventions to counter stigma and discrimination. This paper provides a selective narrative review of that literature from the perspective or standpoint of anti-stigma experts with lived experience of mental distress, the key findings of which have been synthesised and presented in diagrammatic overviews (infographics). These are intended to guide providers in planning, delivering and evaluating lived experience-directed local-level, public interventions to counter stigma and discrimination in accord with current best practice.

Full Text Available The public must make assessments of a range of health-related issues. However, these assessments require scientific know-ledge which is often lacking or ineffectively utilized by the public. Lay people must use whatever cognitive resources are at their disposal to come to judgement on these issues. It will be contended that a group of arguments—so-called informal fallacies—are a valuable cognitive resource in this regard. These arguments serve as cognitive heuristics which facilitate reasoning when knowledge is limited or beyond the grasp of reasoners. The results of an investigation into the use of these arguments by the public are reported.

The F1000Research publishing platform offers the opportunity to launch themed article collections as a part of its dynamic publication environment. The idea of article collections is further expanded through the generation of publication channels that focus on specific scientific areas or disciplines. This editorial introduces the Chemical Information Science channel of F1000Research designed to collate high-quality publications and foster a culture of open peer review. Articles will be selected by guest editor(s) and a group of experts, the channel Editorial Board, and subjected to open peer review.

The publicinformation programme of the IAEA is deter-mined by two basic criteria: First by the Statute of the IAEA which defines its objectives as 'to seek to accelerate and enlarge the contribution of atomic energy to peace, health and prosperity throughout the world' as well as 'to ensure as far as it is able, that assistance provided by it or at its request or under its supervision or control is not used in such a way as to further any military purpose'; second by the fact that the IAEA is an intergovernmental organization, which means that it has to fulfill request of independent, sovereign governments. In a discussion of the public infomation program of the IAEA, three main fields of activities always have to be kept in mind: Nuclear applications in agriculture, medicine, industry, hydrology, research, etc.; The use of nuclear energy for electricity generation, here mainly the aspects of safety and economics; and safeguards. From this it can be understood that the publicinformation activities of the IAEA must have different perspectives: There are non-controversial fields for publicinformation work, such as ost all aspects of nuclear application employing radiation and Isotopes. -- There are activities of the IAEA where the work in general is not questioned but considered absolutely necessary. -- There are finally controversial fields, where the IAEA is blamed for being too promotional. Examples are the IAEA's activities in nuclear power program planning as well as in food irradiation. In these controversial fields, it is very important to look for long-term, issue-oriented strategies to communicate good factual information in perspective

Since it was first created, the Spanish Empresa Nacional de Residuos Radiactivos (ENRESA) has made continuous efforts to transmit to Spanish society a sensation of confidence in current radioactive waste isolation technologies. In keeping with its communications program, the company has promoted the creation of Visitor Centers, where interested members of the public are informed directly of the current state of the art and its application in Spain

The publicinformation programme of the IAEA is deter-mined by two basic criteria: First by the Statute of the IAEA which defines its objectives as 'to seek to accelerate and enlarge the contribution of atomic energy to peace, health and prosperity throughout the world' as well as 'to ensure as far as it is able, that assistance provided by it or at its request or under its supervision or control is not used in such a way as to further any military purpose'; second by the fact that the IAEA is an intergovernmental organization, which means that it has to fulfill request of independent, sovereign governments. In a discussion of the public infomation program of the IAEA, three main fields of activities always have to be kept in mind: Nuclear applications in agriculture, medicine, industry, hydrology, research, etc.; The use of nuclear energy for electricity generation, here mainly the aspects of safety and economics; and safeguards. From this it can be understood that the publicinformation activities of the IAEA must have different perspectives: There are non-controversial fields for publicinformation work, such as ost all aspects of nuclear application employing radiation and Isotopes. -- There are activities of the IAEA where the work in general is not questioned but considered absolutely necessary. -- There are finally controversial fields, where the IAEA is blamed for being too promotional. Examples are the IAEA's activities in nuclear power program planning as well as in food irradiation. In these controversial fields, it is very important to look for long-term, issue-oriented strategies to communicate good factual information in perspective.

Opportunities and problems in information programming within the nuclear industry fall into three general categories: public expectations (content), getting heard (methods and media) and credibility (quality and dependability ofinformation). The difficulty of getting the message across is compounded by a negative communications climate, the lack of belief in an immediate energy shortage, competition for the public's ear and lack of interest by those not already committed. Selection of the most appropriate media should be another concern. There is also the problem of credibility of information programming by the Canadian Nuclear Association. The use of articulate, technically competent individuals in extending communications activity is recommended. Presenting the nuclear industry favourably within the broad social context is essential to prevent the industry being singled out as a symbol of growth, high technology and high risk. The nuclear debate must be perceived in terms of its increasingly political nature. The public require dependable information that will help them reach sound decisions. This is the responsibility of the nuclear industry, the utilities, appropriate government departments and educational institutions, and is not necessarily up to the politicians. (J.T.A.)

Information Sciences Research Group (ISRG) research continues to focus on improving the type, quantity, and quality of information which can be derived from remotely sensed data. Particular focus in on the needs of the remote sensing research and application science community which will be served by the Earth Observing System (EOS) and Space Station, including associated polar and co-orbiting platforms. The areas of georeferenced information systems, machine assisted information extraction from image data, artificial intelligence and both natural and cultural vegetation analysis and modeling research will be expanded.

In the modern digitizedsociety, traffic data can be easily collected for use in roadway development, urban planning and vehicle emission. These data are then further parameterized to support traffic simulation and roadside emission calculations. With the commercialization of AGPS/GPS technology, GPS data are widely utilized to study habit and travelling behaviors. GPS on franchised buses can provide not only positioning information for fleet management but also raw data to analyze traffic situations. In HK, franchised buses account for 6% of RSP and 20% of NOx emissions among the whole vehicle fleet. Being the most heavily means of public transport, the setting up of bus travelling trajectories and service frequency always raise concern from citizens. On this basis, there is an increasing interest and as well as to design and realize an effective cost benefit fleet management strategy. In this study, data collection analysis is carried out on all bus routes (i.e. 112) in Shatin district, one of the 18 districts in Hong Kong. The GPS/AGPS data through Esri ArcGIS investigate the potential benefit of GPS data in different emission scenarios (such as engine type over whole bus fleet). Building on the emission factors from EMFC-HK model, we accounted for factors like travelling distance, idling time, occupancy rate, service frequency, tire and break emissions. Through the simple emission developed model we demonstrate how GPS are data are utilized to assess bus fleet emissions. Further amelioration on the results involve tuning the model with field measurement so as to assess district level emission change after fleet optimization.

Since the accident at Three Mile Island in 1979 and increasingly since the Chernobyl accident 1986, the Division of PublicInformation (DPI) of the IAEA has become a contact point for journalists on all questions related to the nuclear energy and nuclear applications. The IAEA receives a continuously growing number of hits on its Internet Homepage. This is followed by an increasing number of E-mail letters from all over the world. The three main fields of general information activities of the IAEA's DPI are: 1 - the verification system of IAEA in the framework of international treaties concerning non-proliferation of nuclear weapons; 2 - the IAEA's work for safe operation of nuclear installations and its many services to improve the safe application of radiation and isotopes as well as safe operation of nuclear power plants. Questions on illicit trafficking and dangers of wrongly applied radiation sources play an important factor in our publicinformation work in the field of nuclear safety; 3 - the IAEA's activities in the transfer of technology and the application of radiation and isotopes in agriculture, health, industry, hydrology and research. In addition to the new ways of providing information on the IAEA there is still the long established means of contact through periodicals like 'IAEA Bulletin' and 'IAEA Newsbriefs' or general information films like, for instance, 'The International Atom', 'The Nuclear Age', 'How a nuclear power plant works', 'Nuclear Energy and the Environment', 'The Safe Transport of Radioactive Material', 'The International Chernobyl Project', 'Mission Iraq' and others. Besides, there are aspects on longer lasting perspectives which should be considered: - physics teaching at schools; - information on nuclear fission, nuclear power, radiation and isotopes in a science museum in the capital; an information center at nuclear research facilities in the country. Nuclear has many advantages but it is difficult these days to convince normal

Presentations included in this proceedings are describing the following; Mass media and publicinformation on nuclear energy and radiation: striving for two-way confidence and understanding; case studies of different countries having developed nuclear programs, problems of communication between nuclear promoters and/or operators and its adversaries; public attitude concerning nuclear power; different attitudes of men and women

Presentations included in this proceedings are describing the following; Mass media and publicinformation on nuclear energy and radiation: striving for two-way confidence and understanding; case studies of different countries having developed nuclear programs, problems of communication between nuclear promoters and/or operators and its adversaries; public attitude concerning nuclear power; different attitudes of men and women.

Data networks, consisting of pooled electronic health data assets from health care providers serving different patient populations, promote data sharing, population and disease monitoring, and methods to assess interventions. Better understanding of data networks, and their capacity to support public health objectives, will help foster partnerships, expand resources, and grow learning health systems. We conducted semistructured interviews with 16 key informants across the United States, identified as network stakeholders based on their respective experience in advancing health information technology and network functionality. Key informants were asked about their experience with and infrastructure used to develop data networks, including each network's utility to identify and characterize populations, usage, and sustainability. Among 11 identified data networks representing hundreds of thousands of patients, key informants described aggregated health care clinical data contributing to population health measures. Key informant interview responses were thematically grouped to illustrate how networks support public health, including (1) infrastructure and information sharing; (2) population health measures; and (3) network sustainability. Collaboration between clinical data networks and public health entities presents an opportunity to leverage infrastructure investments to support public health. Data networks can provide resources to enhance population health information and infrastructure.

Full Text Available Nowadays, learning more about influence groups on public policy making is one of most important subjects of management science. Governments are the primary sources for public policy making but influenced groups participate indirectly and while they remain out of power, they put pressure on many decisions. Some of participants in public policy making are not influenced groups but mostly, due to their participation in policy public making matter are called influenced groups. This research, from practical research purpose and method view, is a descriptive research and survey branch. The study investigates the effect of university based Iranian Sociological Association on public policy making. The study designs a questionnaire in Likert scale and distributes it among some experts. The results of our survey indicate that that Iranian Sociological Association could influence on public policy making through elite and prominent leaders, self-knowledge and information, elective campaigns, stimulation and connecting with people and other groups.

Full Text Available The present article addresses the form major world information and communication groups operate, based on strategies of verticalisation of activities that encompass the distinct media segments – newspapers and magazines, television and radio – and stretch to the new technologies, namely telecommunications and Internet access services. Operating through a vertical system, these groups work as a network system by establishing association or merger agreements, protocols to strengthen their commercial relations, and through interpersonal connections. Their corresponding capitals tend to disperse and their ownership is constantly changing, particularly thanks to the involvement of pension funds, which do not disregard the opportunity of alienating property whenever the profit obtained justifies it.Both directly, thanks to the strength of their own products – “global products” that inundate the world market, and indirectly, through the influence they have on others around them, the leading information and communication groups are a decisive factor in the speeding up of the processes of naturalization, the fixing of stereotypes, and in putting on the agenda the topics that will cross through public space.It is undeniable that the advent and massive spread of the new technologies pose a serious threat to the homogenization and the media standardization carried out by the major groups. However, there are still issues that call for moderation when analyzing this issue. Firstly, the power public authorities still detain, especially in non-democratic countries, to interrupt the circulation of contents. Secondly, the attack launched by the large information and communication groups in order to occupy online space themselves. Thirdly, the excess of information flow and the difficulty associated with the need to select and verify.

Nuclear power was welcomed from the outset because it promised highly economic and convenient energy, especially electricity. Even today, nuclear projects espoused by developing nations can stimulate enthusiasm and national pride. However, public unease concerning nuclear power safety was magnified by the accidents at Three Mile Island in 1979 and Chernobyl in 1986. The perceived problem of transport and long term storage of nuclear waste has added to public concerns, as has the risk of the possible proliferation of nuclear weapons. Publicinformation strategies must recognize and seek to address these fears by pointing to the many cumulative years of trouble-free nuclear operations and by stressing the strict rules and oversight designed to protect workers and the public from accidents and radioactive releases. It is against this background that the following material has been compiled. It comes from a variety of sources and reflects the experience mainly of industrialized countries that have national nuclear programs. It is important to underline that it is descriptive rather than prescriptive in nature for two reasons: first, the IAEA is essentially a forum for pooling collective knowledge in this as in other fields; and secondly, the IAEA would not presume to offer a universal formula, since national circumstances vary according to specific political, demographic, social and other factors. Hence only certain parts of this paper may be of direct relevance to any given national situation. (author)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The NMFS SWR has collected historical vessel information on the U.S. tuna cannery baitboat and purse seine fleets for many years. The database's first record of a...

The aim of every publicinformation programme is to build up confidence between the general public and those involved in waste management. Publicinformation programme is the topic of this paper. The example of publicinforming is described in the programme of APO - Hazardous Waste Management Agency. (author)

The Public Cryptography Study Group accepted the claim made by the National Security Agency that some information in some publications concerning cryptology could be inimical to national security, and is allowing the establishment of a voluntary mechanism, on an experimental basis, for NSA to review cryptology manuscripts. (MLW)

Full Text Available Strategy as Practice analyzes what people do in relation to the development of strategy in organizations, providing insights into current issues in strategy that require a more micro level of understanding (JOHNSON et al., 2007. Considering the perspective of strategy as practice arising from the emerging strategies, we noticed the lack of studies to understand how these activities occur in a daily basis of organization characterizing as informal strategies (WHITTINGTON, 2007. Therefore, this study proposes to address this issue, showing the occurrence of informal strategizing at a public organization under the strategy-as-practice perspective. For this we held a qualitative research through a single case study (EISENHARDT, 1989 in a municipality in southern Brazil. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with officials of different levels of the organization; direct observation, with notebook guide and analysis of documents provided by the organization, encouraging the triangulation of data. Informal strategies were mainly identified on customer service activities when an applicant’s request is not strictly met under the law or the legislation is dubious and opens room for double-meaning surveying, interpretation and information communication.

Public concern about radon is generally lower than public concern about other comparable risks, or about much lower risks such as those associated with artificial radiation. The public tends to be most concerned about hazards that are: (a) Human made rather than natural; (b) Imposed by a human agency rather than arising by chance; (c) Able to cause harm to groups rather than individuals; (d) Obvious, immediate and ‘dread’ rather than covert, delayed and familiar. None of the four above mentioned factors that would increase concern apply to radon, and a study has found that householders often deny that a health risk exists. For this reason, publicinformation programmes are necessary for the risks due to radon to be taken seriously

Zidan Management Group, Inc. (the Company) is located in Indianapolis, Indiana. The settlement involves renovation activities conducted at property constructed prior to 1978, located in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Full Text Available Despite vigorous research on risk communication, little is known about the social forces that drive these choices. Erev, Wallsten, and Neal (1991 showed that forecasters learn to select verbal or numerical probability estimates as a function of which mode yields on average the larger group payoffs. We extend the result by investigating the effect of group size on the speed with which forecasters converge on the better communication mode. On the basis of social facilitation theory we hypothesized that small groups induce less arousal and anxiety among their members than do large groups when performing new tasks, and therefore that forecasters in small groups will learn the better communication mode more quickly. This result obtained in Experiment 1, which compared groups of size 3 to groups of size 5 or 6. To test whether social loafing rather than social facilitation was mediating the effects, Experiment 2 compared social to personal feedback holding group size constant at 3 members. Learning was faster in the personal feedback condition, suggesting that social facilitation rather than loafing underlay the results.

The papers presented at this Meeting were devoted to: Winning the sustainable development debate; proper information of the public on nuclear power safety, especially the young generation as a target group; improving the methods of communication between nuclear industry and the press; different public attitudes depending on the previous experiences, and efforts in education and/or information of the public.

The papers presented at this Meeting were devoted to: Winning the sustainable development debate; proper information of the public on nuclear power safety, especially the young generation as a target group; improving the methods of communication between nuclear industry and the press; different public attitudes depending on the previous experiences, and efforts in education and/or information of the public

OBJECTIVES: To develop ways of reaching house-bound people and enabling them to give their views in planning and monitoring health and social care. STRATEGY: HealthLINK - a project based in a community health council - explored ways of involving older house-bound people in the London Borough of Camden, in planning and monitoring health and social care using community development techniques. RESULTS: HealthLINK set up an infrastructure to enable house-bound people to have access to information and to enable them to give their views. This resulted in access for health and local authorities to the views of house-bound older people and increased the self esteem and quality of life of those who became involved. CONCLUSIONS: Community development approaches that enable an infrastructure to be established may be an effective way of reaching marginalized communities. However, there are tensions in this approach between the different requirements for public involvement of statutory bodies and of users, and between representation of groups and listening to individual voices.

Honey Do Franchising Group, Inc., a/k/a The Honey Do Service, Inc. (the Company) is located in Bristol, Virginia. The settlement involves renovation activities conducted at properties constructed prior to 1978, located in Bristol, Virginia.

The City of Yellowknife maintains a fleet of vehicles and equipment used for public service. Yellowknife's Community Energy Plan (CEP) has a goal to reduce Yellowknife's fleet fuel consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 20 per cent within 10 years. This report examined current fuel consumption for the City of Yellowknife's fleet based on available data and examined options to reduce fleet fuel consumption. It also quantified the reduction in fuel consumption, GHG emissions, as well as the financial impacts of various options. An overview of the City of Yellowknife's fleet of vehicles and equipment was first provided, as well as calculated annual values for fuel consumption, GHG emissions, and energy consumption for the City of Yellowknife's fleet. Two fleet management case studies were presented. Fuel-efficient vehicles on the market that could provide an opportunity to replace some of the City of Yellowknife's fleet of light vehicles, and bylaw vehicles with fuel-efficient vehicles were discussed. These vehicles include hybrid vehicles, smart cars, compressed natural gas vehicles, and compressed-air vehicles. Equipment maintenance for tires, preventive, synthetic oils, and driver training programs were discussed. Anti-idling campaigns and technologies were also examined. The report concluded with a discussion of renewable fuels such as biodiesel and ethanol blended gasoline. Fleet fuel consumption, GHG and financial impacts were provided for each chapter heading. It was concluded that if all of the measures identified in the report were implemented, an overall decrease in GHG emissions of approximately 15 per cent would be achieved. 15 refs., 8 tabs., 8 figs

The nuclear industry in European must address the issue of the lack of Public acceptance. In particular, the public are very concerned about radioactive waste. It is clear that there is a need to better inform the public about radioactive waste and to consult them as part of the decision-making process concerning the management of these wastes. Existing and proposed new European legislation not only encourage this provision of information and involvement in the decision-making process, but actually require it. The paper examines Public opinion and European legislation in this area and reports on the latest research on societal issues in radioactive waste management carried out under the Community's Euratom Framework Programme. (Author)

Information centres are nothing more, nor less, than a practical way of providing direct information with a view to dissipating the aura of mystery and mistrust that surrounds nuclear power plants in the mind of the average member of the public. Having said this, it should be made clear that the valuable and indispensable contribution made by such centres should always go hand in hand with a well organized visit to the accessible parts of the plant itself. Contact with the people working at the plant, even if only temporary, realization that theirs is a routine activity carried out within an atmosphere of normality, is a psychological factor achieved only through seeing with one's own eyes. With regard to Spain, the recent report by UNESA (association of electricity companies) on the operation of the country's nuclear plants during the first half of 1992 mentions the figure of 33000 visitors, to which should be added the increasing tendency among the members of spanish society to become 'nuclear visitors'

Consuming a product does not (necessarily) reveal the environmental damage it may cause. In terms of environmental damage, most goods are credence goods. Therefore, advertising and pricing rarely can transmit such information effectively to consumers. This article considers the scope with which an

Flight tests are evaluated of an avionics system which aids the pilot in making two-segment approaches for noise abatement. The implications are discussed of equipping United's fleet of Boeing 727-200 aircraft with two-segment avionics for use down to Category 2 weather operating minima. The experience is reported of incorporating two-segment approach avionics systems on two different aircraft. The cost of installing dual two-segment approach systems is estimated to be $37,015 per aircraft, including parts, labor, and spares. This is based on the assumption that incremental out-of-service and training costs could be minimized by incorporating the system at airframe overhaul cycle and including training in regular recurrent training. Accelerating the modification schedule could add up to 50 percent to the modification costs. Recurring costs of maintenance of the installation are estimated to be of about the same magnitude as the potential recurrent financial benefits due to fuel savings.

This morning, there will be road marking works at the Entrance B crossroad, which might create some traffic disruption. The temporary roundabout previously installed will be replaced by traffic lights in the afternoon. Please comply with the new signage. Department of General Infrastructure Services (GS) GS-SE Group

Information is presented concerning the publicinformation chronology; Met Ed public relations; flow of publicinformation during the accident at Three Mile Island; flow of publicinformation on five key events during the accident at Three Mile Island; the journalist's perspective; content analysis of mass media coverage of the accident; local radio news coverage of the accident; and qualitative survey of newspaper coverage of the accident

Information is presented concerning the publicinformation chronology; MET ED public relations; flow of publicinformation during the accident at Three Mile Island; flow of publicinformation on five key events during the accident at Three Mile Island; the journalist's perspective; content analysis of mass media coverage of the accident; local radio news coverage of the accident; and qualitative survey of newspaper coverage of the accident

... Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health AGENCY: Office of the Surgeon General of the United States Public Health Service, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, Office of the Secretary, Department... Integrative and Public Health (the ``Advisory Group''). The meeting will be open to the public. Information...

... Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health AGENCY: Office of the Surgeon General of the United States Public Health Service, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, Office of the Secretary, Department... Integrative and Public Health (the ``Advisory Group''). The meeting will be open to the public. Information...

... Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health AGENCY: Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the... Public Health Service. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: In accordance with Section 10(a) of the Federal Advisory... and Public Health (the ``Advisory Group''). The meeting will be open to the public. Information about...

... 24 Housing and Urban Development 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Public-use database and public... Public-use database and publicinformation. (a) General. Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, the Secretary shall establish and make available for public use, a public-use database containing...

This article expands the view of groups as information processors into a motivated information processing in groups (MIP-G) model by emphasizing, first, the mixedmotive structure of many group tasks and, second, the idea that individuals engage in more or less deliberate information search and

This article expands the view of groups as information processors into a motivated information processing in groups (MIP-G) model by emphasizing, first, the mixed-motive structure of many group tasks and, second, the idea that individuals engage in more or less deliberate information search and

personnel and documentation on C2. During data analysis, three important themes that highlight the why, what, how and consequences of information behavior in C2 emerged. The first is the concept of interwoven situational awareness consisting of individual, intragroup and intergroup shared understanding...... of the situation. Interwoven situational awareness appears to facilitate response to dynamic, constraint-bound situations. The second theme describes the need for dense social networks or frequent communication between participants about the work context and situation, the work process and domain...

Public transportation is one of the most promising transportation modes to reduce the environmental emissions of the transportation sector in the U.S. In order to mitigate the environmental impacts brought by the transit bus system, new energy buses are introduced into the vehicle market. The goal of this study is to find an optimal bus fleet combination for different driving conditions to minimize life cycle cost, greenhouse gas emissions, and conventional air pollutant emission impacts. For this purpose, a Multi-Objective Linear Programming approach is used to select the optimum bus fleet combinations. Given different weight scenarios, this method could effectively provide solutions for decision makers with various budget constraints or emission reduction requirements. The results indicate that in heavily congested driving cycles such as the Manhattan area, the battery electric bus is the dominant vehicle type, while the hybrid bus has more balanced performances in most scenarios because of its lower initial investment comparing to battery electric buses. Petroleum powered buses have seldom been selected by the model. The trade-off analysis shows that the overall greenhouse gas impact performance is sensitive to the life cycle cost after certain points, which could provide valuable information for the bus fleet combination planning. - Highlights: • Hybrid-Life Cycle Assessment analysis approach for transit bus operations. • Optimizing the economic and sustainability impacts of transit bus fleet operation. • CO 2 emissions and other air pollutants related health and environmental damage cost. • Trade-offs between CO 2 emissions and cost of transit bus fleet operation.

It includes information on the relation that exists between the Division of PublicInformation of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and different journalists, in answering questions on nuclear energy and nuclear applications. Also, questions whenever there was a rumor or a report of a receives a growing number of E-mail letters from all over the world, on the same subjects. Increasingly, international organizations are contacted by journalists and the public, for information on incidents and accidents, in the nuclear or the radiation field. This article states that the interest on nuclear energy, isotopes and radiation is focusing in the public media on following points: the fear for an accident; the fear for radiation escaping; the belief that nuclear power plants are too expensive; the belief that electricity could be saved; the belief that nuclear wastes cannot be properly disposed; the fear for unsafe transport; the fears that the neighbors operate their plants carelessly; and fears that radiation treatment makes food or agricultural products radioactive or poisonous. (S. Grainger)

... that are not subject to Independent Public Accountant (IPA) audit requirements. Agency form numbers, if... Information for Public Comment for: Public Housing Capital Fund Program AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing, HUD. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The proposed information collection...

Information and communication technologies provide the basis for increasing and applying knowledge in the private and public sectors. Countries with strong information infrastructures that employ innovative information technology applications, have many advantages for sustained economic growth and social development. This book is, primarily, a business strategy which explains the World Ban...

We propose a speculative attack model in which agents receive multiple public signals. It is characterised by its focus on an informational structure, which sets free from the strict separation between publicinformation and private information. Diverse pieces of publicinformation can be taken into account differently by players and are likely to lead to different appreciations ex post. This process defines players’ private value. The main result is to show that equilibrium uniqueness depend...

Nuclear plans and developing programs in developing and developed countries are facing-in a higher or lower degree- opposition from public opinion. The objectives and contents of the public education program on nuclear energy in Chile are dealt with in this paper

The two Swedish state agencies handling radiation protection and nuclear safety are studied as to their information policies and documents, with special attention to Chernobyl. The principal aim is an assessment of policies and documents. A quantitative coding is made of the printed document's key features. The study is a part of a larger CEC-project, and similar studies are made in three other countries, according to common guidelines. The general radiation situation in Sweden and its historical background is described, generating a picture of a rather safe, tightly controlled and thoroughly researched issue. The agencies are very active in their information work, using just about every conceivable channel to disseminate radiation information. The intellectual range of the printed documents is great, as very different groups are targeted, from the general public to researchers and other state agency employees

The two Swedish state agencies handling radiation protection and nuclear safety are studied as to their information policies and documents, with special attention to Chernobyl. The principal aim is an assessment of policies and documents. A quantitative coding is made of the printed document`s key features. The study is a part of a larger CEC-project, and similar studies are made in three other countries, according to common guidelines. The general radiation situation in Sweden and its historical background is described, generating a picture of a rather safe, tightly controlled and thoroughly researched issue. The agencies are very active in their information work, using just about every conceivable channel to disseminate radiation information. The intellectual range of the printed documents is great, as very different groups are targeted, from the general public to researchers and other state agency employees

In the digital age geo-information has become embedded in our daily lives, such as navigation systems, community platforms, real estate information and weather forecasts. Everybody uses geo-information for their day-to-day decision making. Therefore, access to geo-information is of vital importance

... STATES NAVY REGULATIONS AND OFFICIAL RECORDS PUBLIC AFFAIRS REGULATIONS § 705.16 Navy produced public... information or to acquire photos for official use, including public affairs. Photographs taken by bystanders... significant photos for public affairs use. (v) Photos made by naval personnel, with either personal cameras...

We discuss teache rs' perce ption of the use of group work in the Information Technology (IT) classroom. We describe the current situation regarding the implementation of group work in IT classrooms in South Africa as well as the challenges that IT teachers face when implementing group work. This information will be used ...

Full Text Available Basommatophora is an informalgroup within the molluscan subclass Pulmonata comprising of air-breathing freshwater snails that are typically characterized by eyespots located at the base of two noncontractile tentacles and two external genital orifices. They also have varied shell structures and habitats, not only within the group but also within families. Families of the Basommatophora are highly ubiquitous and may play a role in the life cycles of various parasites of humans and animals. Basommatophora has a worldwide geographical distribution across freshwater, terrestrial and marine habitats. However, little is known on their distribution in the Philippines. This report focuses on describing the biogeographical distribution of the basommatophorans in the Philippines through data gathered from museum collections, foreign databases accessed online, and identification of species found in various literatures. A qualitative description of the distribution of each Basommatophora family in the Philippines is given by distribution maps, indicating locations where specimens were collected and/or identified. A total of 336 counts of basommatophorans from 22 genera were encountered from available literature, museums and public databases. The majority of the occurrences are from the genera Siphonaria. The data and maps generated describe most of the distribution to be in Luzon, with Visayas and Mindanao having close counts with each other. The Philippines has the third most occurrences and genera of basommatophorans of all tropical countries in the world. However, the true diversity of the group could be higher if a more systematic sampling of the archipelago is conducted.

scale secrecy in government business, inadequate incentives to statisticians and grand corruption in many, if not all, public organizations in Nigeria. They promote negative effects, including unreliable data and information, inadequate public ...

Marketing of Information Resources in Selected Public Libraries in Lagos State: A Competitive Intelligence Approach. ... examined the use of marketing techniques in public libraries , and the e xtent to ... EMAIL FULL TEXT EMAIL FULL TEXT

... POLLUTION CONTINGENCY PLAN Responsibility and Organization for Response § 300.155 Publicinformation and community relations. (a) When an incident occurs, it is imperative to give the public prompt, accurate...

Because climate hazards present a range of potential impacts and considerations for different kinds of stakeholders, community responses to increase resilience are best considered through the inclusion of diverse, informed perspectives. The Science Center Public Forums project has created multifaceted modules to engage diverse publics in substantive deliberations around four hazards: heat waves, drought, extreme precipitation, and sea level rise. Using a suite of background materials including visualization and narrative components, each of these daylong dialogues engage varied groups of lay-participants at eight US science centers in learning about hazard vulnerabilities and tradeoffs of proposed strategies for building resilience. Participants listen to and consider the priorities and perspectives of fellow residents and stakeholders, and work together to formulate detailed resilience plans reflecting both current science and informedpublic values. Deliverables for the project include visualizations of hazard vulnerabilities and strategies through immersive planetarium graphics and Google Earth, stakeholder perspective narratives, and detailed background materials for each project hazard. This session will: communicate the process for developing the hazard modules with input from subject matter experts, outline the process for iterative revisions based upon findings from formative focus groups, share results generated by participants of the project's first two pilot forums, and describe plans for broader implementation. These activities and outcomes could help to increase the capacity of informal science education institutions as trusted conveners for informed community dialogue by educating residents about vulnerabilities and engaging them in critical thinking about potential policy responses to critical climate hazards while sharing usable public values and priorities with civic planners.

Aware of the importance of positive work with the public, the Czechoslovak Atomic Energy Commission set the Nuclear Information Centre at Zbraslav the task to develop a publicinformation conception and to commence activities in this field. After 19 89 there appeared the need to put publicinformation on a systematic and active basis. Following a requirement by the Czechoslovak Atomic Energy Commission, developed a 'PublicInformation Model Concerning the State Surveillance over Nuclear and Radiation Safety'. Actually this was a name for a conception or system of active public relations in the field of nuclear safety, of the role of the State Surveillance, and of low and intermediate level radioactive waste storage facilities. An educational programme is the heart of the entire system. Mass media are a next field through which the public is influenced. This is a very diverse field, comprising dissemination of both general information which the media (nationwide and local) make available to the wide public, and particular information for the top authorities and experts. It is envisaged that relations will be established with selected journalists who are able and willing to inform people about the safety of nuclear facilities and about nuclear wastes in an unbiased manner. Surveys and public opinion polls give unambiguous evidence that television is the most popular of mass media and is also enjoying the highest trust of the public. Cooperation with the radio was also initiated in the late 1992 and two short programmes were broadcast, dealing with a closed low and intermediate level radioactive waste repository in Central Bohemia and with the training reactor at the Faculty of Nuclear Science in Prague. The third major field of publicinformation activities consists in printing and publishing documents. In this field, the Annual Report on the Activities of the State Surveillance over Nuclear Safety has been issued - regrettably, only for a limited group of

Aware of the importance of positive work with the public, the Czechoslovak Atomic Energy Commission set the Nuclear Information Centre at Zbraslav the task to develop a publicinformation conception and to commence activities in this field. After 19 89 there appeared the need to put publicinformation on a systematic and active basis. Following a requirement by the Czechoslovak Atomic Energy Commission, developed a 'PublicInformation Model Concerning the State Surveillance over Nuclear and Radiation Safety'. Actually this was a name for a conception or system of active public relations in the field of nuclear safety, of the role of the State Surveillance, and of low and intermediate level radioactive waste storage facilities. An educational programme is the heart of the entire system. Mass media are a next field through which the public is influenced. This is a very diverse field, comprising dissemination of both general information which the media (nationwide and local) make available to the wide public, and particular information for the top authorities and experts. It is envisaged that relations will be established with selected journalists who are able and willing to inform people about the safety of nuclear facilities and about nuclear wastes in an unbiased manner. Surveys and public opinion polls give unambiguous evidence that television is the most popular of mass media and is also enjoying the highest trust of the public. Cooperation with the radio was also initiated in the late 1992 and two short programmes were broadcast, dealing with a closed low and intermediate level radioactive waste repository in Central Bohemia and with the training reactor at the Faculty of Nuclear Science in Prague. The third major field of publicinformation activities consists in printing and publishing documents. In this field, the Annual Report on the Activities of the State Surveillance over Nuclear Safety has been issued - regrettably, only for a limited group of

Full Text Available Investment volume is considered as an important factor in regional development under current conditions. Logistical infrastructure which ensures a complex transport, distributive, information and other services exerts a significant influence on regional investment attractiveness. Lack of clear vision on development and execution of development strategy for logistics infrastructure from the side of regional authorities results in unwillingness of large federal and transnational companies to provide investments in infrastructure projects. Network of automotive transport terminals is one of the main elements in logistics infrastructure. The network allows to optimize a flow of material goods from the point of their origin to the point of their consumption with the lowest possible costs and the required level of service. Automobile transport is one of the main objects of transport infrastructure and it is characterized by rather high flexibility in comparison with other types of transport facilities that preconditions its widespread application. Network of automobile fleets (terminals has been formed for redistribution of goods traffic within the concerned regions. The purpose of the present research is to develop a mathematical model for formation of transport infrastructure on the territory of regions. The paper proposes an approach for formation of automobile fleet (terminal network on the territory of a large region with due account of the established network of distribution and sorting-out warehouse facilities. A model has been developed for solving the problem pertaining to minimization of aggregate costs related to maintenance of automobile fleets, delivery of goods to and from distribution and sorting-out warehouse facilities to consumers, ferry of empty trucks and goods handling. The model makes it possible to determine optimal number and location area of automobile fleets (terminals while accounting for their possible locations, capacity

The objective of this paper is to analyze the potential of e-Government tools to enable the general public to oversee spending of public institutions. The paper illustrates the “watchdog” potential of reducing corruption by means of providing information to the public on the example of the Czech Public e-Procurement Information System (further called System). The System is an Internet portal, where public authorities announce their intention to purchase goods and services. Such announcements ...

The search for new ecological solutions for public transport has given an important role to natural gas for vehicles in the national context. Under current prices of fuel and costs of plants, the management of a bus fleet running on natural gas allows consistent savings, besides reducing the atmospheric pollution of urban centres. Within this context, solutions offered by current technology available on the market are examined. Low polluting emissions are taken into consideration and a complete analysis of costs and savings is reported. Reference is made to the Thermie European programme which calls for fuel diversification, energy conservation and air pollution abatement

Vehicle fleets are a poorly understood part of the economy. They are important, though, in that they purchase a large share of light-duty vehicles and are often targeted by governments as agents of change. We investigate fleet purchase behavior, using focus groups, interviews, and mail and telephone surveys. We categorize fleets into four different decision-making structures (autocratic, bureaucratic, hierarchic, and democratic), determine what share of the market sector each represents, d...

... Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, Office of... Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Corinne Graffunder... Integrative and Public Health (the ``Advisory Group'') within the Department of Health and Human Services. To...

This publication is the third in a proposed series of annual publications issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in response to publicinformation requests regarding the Commission's regulation of shipments of irradiated reactor fuel. Subsequent issues in this series will update the information contained herein. This publication contains basically three kinds of information: (1) routes approved by the Commission for the shipment of irradiated reactor fuel, (2) information regarding any safeguards-significant incidents which have been reported to occur during shipments along such routes, and (3) cumulative amounts of material shipped

... ORGANIZATION; CONDUCT AND ETHICS; AND INFORMATION AND REQUESTS Regulations Pertaining to the Protection of the Environment § 200.554 Public availability of information. (a) Any environmental assessment or impact statement...

Advances in technological uses within public schools provide increased methods to collect and store non-public personal information (NPI) or personally identifiable information (PII) from both students and employees. Consequently, the sensitive information collected is susceptible to unauthorized disclosure, as various public school employees are…

Until now the population didn't manifest for any kind of reaction against the construction of a nuclear power plant in Romania. But taking into account the low level of their knowledge concerning the nuclear energy, the population might be in the danger of a wrong orientation against the acceptance of using such energy. Romania, in this way must enter in the international area of information and communication. The establishment of an information policy for population has the following steps; the availability of a true nuclear knowledge and a day to day communication which aim at developing public confidence; - this confidence having been obtained the second step will be to maintain it; - a full propaganda concerning the implementation of new NPP in Romania; - the first CANDU units of Cernavoda NPP being built is necessary to increase the prevention and management of possible oriels situations. At the RENEL-GEN level a Coordinating Group has been named to implement the whole activity of the publicinformation policy

According to the Motivated Information Processing in Groups (MIP-G) model, groups should perform ambiguous (non-ambiguous) tasks better when they have high (low) epistemic motivation and concomitant tendencies to engage in systematic (heuristic) information processing and exchange. The authors

Given the many different types of professionals working in public health and their diverse roles, it is likely that their information needs, information-seeking behaviors, and problem-solving abilities differ. Although public health professionals often work in interdisciplinary teams, few studies have explored their information needs and behaviors within the context of teamwork. This study explored the relationship between Canadian public health professionals' perceptions of their problem-solving abilities and their information-seeking behaviors with a specific focus on the use of evidence in practice settings. It also explored their perceptions of collaborative information seeking and the work contexts in which they sought information. Key Canadian contacts at public health organizations helped recruit study participants through their list-servs. An electronic survey was used to gather data about (a) individual information-seeking behaviors, (b) collaborative information-seeking behaviors, (c) use of evidence in practice environments, (d) perceived problem-solving abilities, and (e) demographic characteristics. Fifty-eight public health professionals were recruited, with different roles and representing most Canadian provinces and one territory. A significant relationship was found between perceived problem-solving abilities and collaborative information-seeking behavior (r = -.44, p public health professionals take a shared, active approach to problem solving, maintain personal control, and have confidence, they are more likely collaborate with others in seeking information to complete a work task. Administrators of public health organizations should promote collaboration by implementing effective communication and information-seeking strategies, and by providing information resources and retrieval tools. Public health professionals' perceived problem-solving abilities can influence how they collaborate in seeking information. Educators in public health

Research continues to focus on improving the type, quantity, and quality of information which can be derived from remotely sensed data. The focus is on remote sensing and application for the Earth Observing System (Eos) and Space Station, including associated polar and co-orbiting platforms. The remote sensing research activities are being expanded, integrated, and extended into the areas of global science, georeferenced information systems, machine assissted information extraction from image data, and artificial intelligence. The accomplishments in these areas are examined.

In a growing crisis situation, as government leaders strive to formulate and implement a workable long-term energy program, many experts agree that only coal and uranium are available to supplement our dwindling supplies of domestic oil and gas to make us independent of foreign sources of these fuels. At this critical time, the debate over nuclear power has shifted from the technological to the political arena, and the scientific community should recognize its responsibility to ''break its silence'' and should become involved in communicating the facts about nuclear power to decision makers and the general public. Independent scientists who do not recognize their responsibility to provide this guidance are doing a disservice to their discipline and to the broader areas of society it affects. By not speaking out on controversial subjects within their fields, scientists and technicians are assuming the risk that political and public policy will be established without the benefit of the full range of expert opinion

The report attempts to contribute to the timely area of alternative vehicular fuels. It addresses the analysis of fleet operation on alternative fuels, specifically compressed natural gas (CNG) and propane, in terms of both fleet economics and societal impacts. Comprehensive information on engine technology, fueling infrastructure design, and societal impacts are presented. An evaluation framework useful for decisions between any vehicular fuels is developed. The comprehensive fleet cost-effectiveness analysis framework used in previous Project 983 reports is discussed in great detail. This framework/model is flexible enough to allow substantial sensitivity and scenario analysis. The model is used to perform sample analyses of both fleet economic and societal impacts

Full Text Available Background: Fleets constitute the most important production means in transportation. Their appropriate management is crucial for all companies having transportation duties. The paper is the second one of a series of three papers that the author dedicates to the strategic vehicle fleet management topic. Material and methods: The paper discusses ways of building companies' fleets of vehicles. It means deciding on the number of vehicles in a fleet (the fleet sizing problem - FS and types of vehicles in a fleet (the fleet composition problem - FC. The essence of both problems lies in balancing transportation supply and demand taking into account different demand types to be fulfilled and different vehicle types that can be put into a fleet. Vehicles, which can substitute each other while fulfilling different demand types. In the paper an original mathematical model (an optimization method allowing for the FS/FC analysis is proposed. Results: An application of the proposed optimization method in a real-life decision situation (the case study within the Polish environment and the obtained solution are presented. The solution shows that there exist some best fitted (optimal fleet size / composition matching company's transportation requirements. An optimal fleet size / composition allows for a significantly higher fleet utilization (10-15% higher than any other, including random fleet structure. Moreover, any changes in the optimal fleet size / composition, even small ones, result in a lower utilization of vehicles (lower by a few percent. Conclusions: The presented in this paper analysis, on the one hand, is consistent with a widespread opinion that the number of vehicle types in a fleet should be limited. In the other words it means that the versatility / interchangeability of vehicles is very important. On the other hand, the analysis proves that even small changes in a fleet size / fleet composition can result in an important changes of the fleet

The publication is a report from a select committee set up in the light of the criticism of the information transfer from the Norwegian authorities to the public after the Chernobyl accident. The committee has examined the information initiatives taken, and the kind of information transmitted to the public in relation to the information needs. The committee puts forward proposals for the improvement of the information preparedness in case of a similar emergency in the future.

In this dissertation, I study the performance impact of information technology (IT) investments in the public sector. IT has been one of the key assets in public administration since the early MIS era. Even though the information systems (IS) discipline has witnessed a considerable amount of research efforts on the subject of IT business value for…

The essence of a democratic process is the guarantee that citizens have free and easy access to publicinformation. How can that be made possible and how can people learn to use that information critically? In earlier papers (Boef, et.al. 2008 and 2009), we discussed the relationship between public

The authors review the Motivated Information Processing in Groups Model (De Dreu, Nijstad, & Van Knippenberg, 2008) to understand group creativity and innovation. Although distinct phenomena, group creativity and innovation are both considered a function of epistemic motivation (EM; the degree to

The 24,000 people working to operate French nuclear power plants were not well prepared to perform their own analysis allowing them to give a personal opinion and judgment regarding the information released by the media shortly after the Chernobyl accident. Consequently, EDF launched a wide educational program for its personnel. Because of the tremendous volume of work to inform this huge population it was necessary to educate 100 instructors (about 2 people per plant) in charge to teach the executive staff of all power plants and technical departments. This approach, the pedagogic methods as well as the training means used to prevent any deviation of the program content is presented. The main difficulties and inappropriate solutions for implementing this program are also presented. The conclusion points out the possible improvements of this approach and the prospective enlargement of information distribution to the entire population

Full Text Available There is a wealth of medical information now available to the public through various sources that are not necessarily controlled by medical or healthcare professionals. In Australia there has been a strong movement in the health consumer arena of consumer-led sharing and production of medical information and in healthcare decision-making. This has led to empowerment of the public as well as increased knowledge-sharing. There are some successful initiatives and strategies on consumer- and public-led sharing of medical information, including the formation of specialised consumer groups, independent medical information organisations, consumer peer tutoring, and email lists and consumer networking events. With well-organised public initiatives and networks, there tends to be fairly balanced information being shared. However, there needs to be caution about the use of publicly available scientific information to further the agenda of special-interest groups and lobbying groups to advance often biased and unproven opinions or for scaremongering. With the adoption of more accountability of medical research, and the increased public scrutiny of private and public research, the validity and quality of medical information reaching the public is achieving higher standards.

The road transport sector is the major emission source of toxic air pollutants and greenhouse gases (GHGs) in large Asian cities. This paper comparatively analyzed on-road passenger traffic fleets (cars, buses, taxis, motorcycles), using local data collected in cities of Bangkok (BKK), Kathmandu, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), and Yangon. Surveys were done in 2010-2014 to obtain information on vehicle technology, driving activities (speed, distance, number, and types of starts), traffic density, and fuel characteristics. Large shares of pre-Euro vehicles were still observed, especially for public buses. The most advanced technology was Euro4, which was observed in small shares (<5%) of the personal car fleets in BKK, HCMC, and Yangon. Euro3 was generally the most advanced technology found in other fleets in these cities. Motorcycles (MC) was the most dominant fleet in all cities, except in Yangon, where they were not allowed. Low vehicle speeds, mainly below 25 km/h, were observed for all vehicle types, indicating traffic jams. Natural gas and LPG had considerable shares in BKK and Yangon while for other cities diesel and gasoline were still the two major fuels used in transportation. Running emission factors (EF) of buses and taxis in Kathmandu were considerably higher than other cities due to its hilly topography, low speeds, high mileage, and less advanced vehicle technologies. The number of passenger vehicles per 1000 people were 400-500 in HCMC and Hanoi (mainly by MC) and in BKK (also by cars), moderate in Kathmandu (200) and the lowest in Yangon (40) because of the MC ban. Annual emissions of the passenger fleets were calculated for each city using the International Vehicle Emission (IVE) for 14 species. BC and OC emissions were estimated using their fractions of PM10 emission. Annual emission per capita of toxic air pollutants and GHGs was analyzed. For example, the emission in kg/year/person for CO, VOC, NOx and PM10 in these cities was 24-150 for CO, 0

Political public relations, as one of the PR programmes, has slowly created strategies and tactics for communication with the public and the media. Media management and information management are the most important activities of the political public relations. These activities are frequently connected with non-ethical communication, whose aim is media manipulation and manipulation of the public. Media manipulation is well known as communication spin. These activities are created by governm...

The "Mapping the Human Genome" project demonstrated that librarians can help whomever they serve in accessing information resources in the areas of biological and health information, whether it is the scientists who are developing the information or a member of the public who is using the information. Public libraries can guide library…

This paper presents the results of a large group process conducted in Edinburgh, Scotland investigating public perceptions of climate change and low-carbon energy technologies, specifically carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS). The quantitative and qualitative results reported show that the participants were broadly supportive of efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, and that there is an expressed preference for renewable energy technologies to be employed to achieve this. CCS was considered in detail during the research due to its climate mitigation potential; results show that the workshop participants were cautious about its deployment. The paper discusses a number of interrelated factors which appear to influence perceptions of CCS; factors such as the perceived costs and benefits of the technology, and people's personal values and trust in others all impacted upon participants’ attitudes towards the technology. The paper thus argues for the need to provide the public with broad-based, balanced and trustworthy information when discussing CCS, and to take seriously the full range of factors that influence public perceptions of low-carbon technologies. - Highlights: • We report the results of a Scottish large group workshop on energy technologies. • There is strong public support for renewable energy and mixed opinions towards CCS. • The workshop was successful in initiating discussion around climate change and energy technologies. • Issues of trust, uncertainty, costs, benefits, values and emotions all informpublic perceptions. • Need to take seriously the full range of factors that inform perceptions

This paper outlines an information system for tourists using collective public transport based on mobile devices with limited computation and wireless connection capacities. In this system, the mobile device collaborates with the vehicle infrastructure in order to provide the user with multimedia (visual and audio) information about his/her trip. The information delivered, adapted to the user preferences, is synchronized with the passage of vehicles through points of interest along the route, for example: bus stops, tourist sights, public service centres, etc.

It is well known that aircraft fleets are aging alongside rising operations and support costs. Logisticians and fleet managers who better understand the milestones and timeline of an aging fleet can recognise potential savings. This paper outlines generalised milestones germane to military aircraft

Many years of operational experience have shown advantages of nuclear liner icebreakers over those burning fossil fuels primarily in ensuring reliable and stable shipping along the North Sea Route with an extended navigation season being realized. The advantages of the nuclear fleet are described

Full Text Available The Public Value concept is a Public Management normative process that utilizes efficiency and ethics as co-equal determinants to assess organizational outcomes. As such, Public Value represents what Ghoshal calls intellectual pluralism or the utilization of normative management processes in the social sciences to challenge the intellectual absolutism of the Chicago School. One discipline where Public Value can be used to assess normative results is Legal Studies’ antitrust field. This research applies Public Value criteria in evaluating the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2013 ruling in Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics. The conclusions tentatively found the Court’s decision will (a create Public Value at the macro level but (b trigger public failure at the micro level for poor women because of an asymmetrical information network. This outcome fits with Stiglitz’s hypothesis concerning asymmetrical information and market failure. Further empirical research on Myriad’s policy is recommended.

New technological opportunities and increasing demands make it imperative for government agencies to make the information they gather available to citizens. How should they go about this? This paper presents a conceptual framework for analyzing the strategic options open to agencies which have

Publication rates are a vital measure of individual and institutional performance, yet many nurse academics publish rarely or not at all. Despite widespread acceptance of the need to increase academic publication rates and the pressure university faculty may experience to fulfil this obligation, little is known about the effectiveness of practical strategies to support academic writing. In this small cohort study (n=8) comprising nurses and other professionals involved in university education, a questionnaire survey was used to evaluate the effectiveness of a one-week "Writing for Publication" course combined with a monthly writers support group to increase publication rates. Two year pre and post submissions increased from 9 to 33 articles in peer-reviewed journals. Publications (in print) per person increased from a baseline of 0.5-1.2 per year. Participants reported increased writing confidence and greater satisfaction with the publishing process. Peer support and receiving recognition and encouragement from line managers were also cited as incentives to publish. Writing for publication is a skill that can be learned. The evaluated model of a formal writing course, followed by informal monthly group support meetings, can effectively increase publication rates.

Designers of programs for informing the public about radiation hazards need to consider the difficulties inherent in communicating highly technical information about risk. To be effective, information campaigns must be buttressed by empirical research aimed at determining what people know, what they want to know, and how best to convey that information. Drawing upon studies of risk perception, some of the problems that any information program must confront are described.

The public sector plays an important role in promoting child health information technology. Public sector support is essential in 5 main aspects of child health information technology, namely, data standards, pediatric functions in health information systems, privacy policies, research and implementation funding, and incentives for technology adoption. Some innovations in health information technology for adult populations can be transferred to or adapted for children, but there also are unique needs in the pediatric population. Development of health information technology that addresses children's needs and effective adoption of that technology are critical for US children to receive care of the highest possible quality in the future.

Networking and Information Technology Research and Development, Executive Office of the President — This application contains a list of Federal R&D sites that are available for public-private collaborative research efforts in the field of spectrum and wireless...

A building information modelling (BIM) conception has established itself as an effective and practical approach to plan, design, construct, and manage buildings and infrastructure. Analysis of the governance literature has shown that the BIM-developed tools do not take fully into account the growing demands from ecology and health fields. In this connection, it is possible to offer an optimal way of adapting such tools to the necessary consideration of the sanitary and hygienic specifications of materials used in construction industry. It is proposed to do it through the introduction of assessments that meet the requirements of national sanitary standards. This approach was demonstrated in the case study of Revit® program.

In today's world, companies must initiate their own communications programmes or else they will be overtaken by others under circumstances and at times that are both generally unfavourable and not of their choosing. The development of a corporate communications programme is good for a company's commercial activities, for its management, and for its integration into its operating environment, as well as for its internal harmony. This is true for any company, regardless of its business sector. However, for companies in the nuclear field, such as the Cogema Group, do special considerations need to be taken into account? What is the communications track record of this industry? Should the overall communications strategy of a company be challenged based on this record? The questions are addressed in this paper. (author)

We implemented a framework called TXTGate that combines literature indices of selected public biological resources in a flexible text-mining system designed towards the analysis of groups of genes. By means of tailored vocabularies, term-as well as gene-centric views are offered on selected textual...

Opinion polls and case study analysis show that there is a strong public demand for more participation in decision-making processes relating to the environment and nuclear issues specifically (IGNA, 2007; EC DG TREN 2008). In this regard, the implementation of transparency and participation at local level in municipalities hosting nuclear facilities is being claimed by local representatives over Europe. The pilot project 'Local Competence Building and PublicInformation in European Nuclear Territories' (2007-2008) was promoted by the Group of European Municipalities with Nuclear Facilities (GMF) and partly financed by the Directorate General for Energy and Transport (DG TREN). The project aims at supporting the European Commission (EC) in the process of harmonising national practices in the field of governance in nuclear territories. The objectives of this pilot project were two-fold: firstly, to identify local good practices at European level with regards to governance in the nuclear field and, secondly, to provide a methodological framework to recommend good practices and establish a set of indicators. The results of the project are briefly explained under the five dimensions of local governance on nuclear matters: access to environmental information, participation, access to justice, competence building and local development. Firstly, access to information on nuclear issues is broadly acknowledged by local representatives to be of relevant importance in increasing public knowledge on nuclear issues, especially on nuclear safety and radiation protection. Secondly, most local representatives feel that the current participatory level on nuclear issues in municipalities is too low and they would appreciate a greater involvement of local communities in decision-making processes on nuclear issues through local commissions or other mechanisms. Thirdly, according to local authorities, access to justice should be provided not only for the public but also for themselves

The National Plan to Address Alzheimer's Disease calls for a new relationship between researchers and members of the public. This relationship is one that provides research information to patients and allows patients to provide ideas to researchers. One way to describe it is a "bidirectional translational relationship." Despite the numerous sources of online and offline information about Alzheimer's disease, there is no information source which currently provides this interaction. This article proposes the creation an Alzheimer's research information source dedicated to monitoring Alzheimer's research literature and providing user friendly, publicly accessible summaries of data written specifically for a lay audience. This information source should contain comprehensive, updated, user friendly, publicly available, reviews of Alzheimer's research and utilize existing online multimedia/social networking tools to provide information in useful formats that help patients, caregivers, and researchers learn rapidly from one another.

Many decades of industrial experience have proven that thermal reactors are able to provide a safe, reliable and competitive source of electricity. The higher construction costs of fast reactors compared to thermal reactors could be compensated by their better use of fissile material during the probable fast development of nuclear energy in the first half of the century. Thus, despite the over-cost of their cores, on the longer term, fast reactors are expected to take the lead in the nuclear reactor race. In the mean term, multi-strata symbiotic parks, using high conversion-rate thermal reactors, may delay fast reactor start up. We compare projected fuel cycle costs and cost of electricity of various symbiotic nuclear fleets, on the basis of a simple economic model and elementary costs estimated on publicly available data. These parameters and their evolution over reactor-life time scale can hardly be estimated. That is why we look at the sensitivities of our results to large modifications of the input parameters. The aim of our simple economic model is to understand which reactor characteristics should be optimized to enhance their economic performance when working as a single symbiotic fleet. (authors)

Full Text Available The article keeps under consideration the mattersto apply the cryptographic system having a public key to provide information security and to implya digital signature. It performs the analysis of trust models at the formation of certificates and their use. The article describes the relationships between the trust model and the architecture public key infrastructure. It contains conclusions in respect of the options for building the public key infrastructure for integrated informationspace.

Provides an overview of Clean Cities National Clean Fleets Partnership (NCFP). The NCFP is open to large private-sector companies that have fleet operations in multiple states. Companies that join the partnership receive customized assistance to reduce petroleum use through increased efficiency and use of alternative fuels. This initiative provides fleets with specialized resources, expertise, and support to successfully incorporate alternative fuels and fuel-saving measures into their operations. The National Clean Fleets Partnership builds on the established success of DOE's Clean Cities program, which reduces petroleum consumption at the community level through a nationwide network of coalitions that work with local stakeholders. Developed with input from fleet managers, industry representatives, and Clean Cities coordinators, the National Clean Fleets Partnership goes one step further by working with large private-sector fleets.

The investigation in perception of the risk, the studies on perception of the nuclear risk in Spain and PublicInformation and the social acceptance of nuclear energy in Spain are discussed in this paper

Marketing of Information Resources in Selected Public Libraries in Lagos State: ... and the e xtent to which competitive strategies could be employed in marketing ... negative influence were all indicated as factors militating against marketing of ...

... 1 General Provisions 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Information on drafting and publication. 15.10... drafting and publication. The Director of the Federal Register may prepare, and distribute to agencies... chapter. The Director may also develop and conduct programs of technical instruction. ...

The number of applied behavior analysis (ABA) classrooms for students with autism is increasing in K-12 public schools. To inform instruction of students with autism in public school settings, this study examined the relation between performance on mastery learning assessments and standardized achievement tests for students with autism spectrum…

...] Information Sharing With Agency Stakeholders: Public Meeting AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection... stakeholders regarding cross-Agency strategic priorities. We are also announcing that APHIS is hosting a public... opportunity for stakeholders to ask questions and share their perspective. DATES: The meeting will be held on...

Quantitative social science (QSS) has the potential to make an important contribution to public policy. However it also has a number of limitations. The aim of this paper is to explain these limitations to a non-specialist audience and to identify a number of ways in which QSS research could be improved to better informpublic policy.

Reports results of 1983 survey of 25 public libraries and 1981 survey of 11 public libraries, both of which focused on facets of online information services--user fees, databases, documentation, equipment, miscellaneous services, and subject areas searched. The 1983 questionnaire and seven sources are appended. (EJS)

as a result of information being accessible. The British Choose and Book portal (www.healthspace.nhs.uk) and Danish e-health portal (www.sundhed.dk) are examples of making knowledge and services available to the individual citizens: Sundhed.dk is the official Danish eHealth Portal for the public Danish...... other.(www.sundhed.dk, accessed 13 November 2008) Sundhed.dk serves as a reservoir of knowledge or source of information for the patients to empower the general public (Johannsen and Kensing 2005). Kensing and Johannsen raise the question of which type of information is the Information System (IS) going...

The Department of Energy (DOE) is proposing to build a facility to produce tritium for the next 40 years and is requesting the public to give input on which technology to employ and where to locate such a facility. This information is discussed in the February 1995 Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (DPEIS) for Tritium Supply and Recycling (DOE/EIS-0160). This document presents information on the public hearings

The paper presents a framework aimed at assessing the capacity of Public Administration bodies (PA) to offer a good quality of information and service on their web portals. Our framework is based on the extraction of ".it? domain names registered by Italian public institutions and the subsequent analysis of their relative websites. The analysis foresees an automatic gathering of the web pages of PA portals by means of web crawling and an assessment of the quality of their online information s...

Facebook, the most popular Online social network is a virtual environment where users share information and are in contact with friends. Apart from many useful aspects, there is a large amount of personal and sensitive informationpublicly available that is accessible to external entities/users. In this paper we study the public exposure of Facebook profile attributes to understand what type of attributes are considered more sensitive by Facebook users in terms of privacy, and thus are rarely...

users, awareness of resources provided by public libraries in Rivers State is low, ... decision making, and culture development of individuals and social groups. ..... programmes, current affairs, fish production, human right, business, oil spillage,.

Waste Management, Inc., began operating a fleet of heavy-duty LNG refuse trucks at its Washington, Pennsylvania, facility. The objective of the project was to provide transportation professionals with quantitative, unbiased information on the cost, maintenance, operational, and emissions characteristics of LNG as one alternative to conventional diesel for heavy-duty trucking applications.

Two experiments investigated the differential impact of cooperation and competition on strategic information sharing and use in a three-person group decision-making task. Information was distributed in order to create a hidden profile so that disconfirmation of group members' initial preferences was required to solve the task. Experiment 1 revealed that competition, compared to cooperation, led group members to withhold unshared information, a difference that was not significant for shared information. In competition, compared to cooperation, group members were also more reluctant to disconfirm their initial preferences. Decision quality was lower in competition than in cooperation, this effect being mediated by disconfirmation use and not by information sharing. Experiment 2 replicated these findings and revealed the role of mistrust in predicting strategic information sharing and use in competition. These results support a motivated information processing approach of group decision making.

Canada's Atomic Energy Control Board, considered the oldest independent nuclear regulatory body in the world, has made significant progress toward openness and visibility through publicinformation policy initiatives and communications activities, particularly in the last five years. A number of publicinformation projects are described, and successes as well as disappointments are outlined. The importance in terms of enhanced credibility and public confidence in the regulatory agency is stressed. In looking toward the future, the linking of communications to the operational functions and activities of the regulator is presented as a key requirement. (author)

This paper reviews the licensing procedures for nuclear installations in various European countries and examines the form, content and methods selected for information and consultation of the public. The author stresses the importance of this stage in the procedure, both for the nuclear operator and the public authorities, given the population's concern about the environment. He concludes that, irrespective of its complexity, the nuclear field cannot remain the concern of a few initiates competent to take decisions and that, consequently, this implies creation of new information systems to meet the public's desire to participate more directly in the process. (NEA) [fr

To explore the information needs of the 'frontline' public health workforce, whether needs are being met and barriers to meeting needs. A qualitative research study using in-depth semi-structured interviews. A qualitative study, comprising eight semi-structured interviews, was conducted with one representative of each of eight categories of frontline public health professional (children's centre manager, community development worker, community midwife, district nurse, health visitor, community pharmacist, practice nurse and school nurse) to determine their public health role, information needs and barriers to meeting needs. Interviews were tape-recorded and data were analysed to identify themes for each category and common themes. Respondents expressed similar needs, some of which could be met by a dedicated library and knowledge service, given adequate funding, and some of which need input from management. The library could supply: news bulletins and up-to-date information, especially local information; targeted local websites and databases; training in literature-searching skills, basic information technology (IT) skills and critical appraisal; course and work support, with access to local library facilities; a literature search support service; signposting, with a named library contact; and access to information for patients. Management input is required to remedy basic structural barriers, including: lack of IT equipment and training; lack of time to access information; lack of funding for courses and professional development; and lack of communication of information from higher levels. Some information needs can be met by improvements and widening of access to library services, which may need increased funding. However, some barriers to meeting information needs require action elsewhere in the public health management structure. Changes need to be made in communication of public health strategy, and engagement needs to be improved between higher managerial

This document describes the cask fleet currently available to transport spent nuclear fuels. The report describes the proposed operational procedures for these casks and the vehicles intended to transport them. Included are techniques for loading the cask, lifting it onto the transport vehicle, preparing the invoices, and unloading the cask at the destination. The document concludes with a discussion on the maintenance and repair of the casks. (tem) 29 figs

Social, political, and economic disruptions caused by natural and human-caused public health emergencies have catalyzed public health efforts to expand the scope of biosurveillance and increase the timeliness, quality, and comprehensiveness of disease detection, alerting, response, and prediction. Unfortunately, efforts to acquire, render, and visualize the diversity of health intelligence information are hindered by its wide distribution across disparate fields, multiple levels of government, and the complex interagency environment. Achieving this new level of situation awareness within public health will require a fundamental cultural shift in methods of acquiring, analyzing, and disseminating information. The notion of information "fusion" may provide opportunities to expand data access, analysis, and information exchange to better informpublic health action.

Proceedings Paper (for Acquisition Research Program) Approved for public release; distribution unlimited. This paper describes a cost-benefit analysis by the Institute for Defense Analyses of the ''Bridge Project'' that ADL (Advanced Distributed Learning) is conducting for the Office of Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics (OSD(AT&L) to improve the management of Integrated Logistics Support (ILS). The Project is part of the OSD RTOC program (Reduction in Total ...

This publication contains basically three kinds of information: routes approved by the Commission for the shipment of irradiated reactor fuel, information regarding any safeguards-significant incidents which have been reported to occur during shipments along such routes, and cumulative amounts of material shipped

... information as evidenced by their verification that they have done so. We also note that reports of harm... ``Others'' file reports of harm with us using our online incident reporting form by self-reporting as... requirements for verification of information it intends to make public. Response--Congress provided a clear...

... permit the distribution by organizations of promotional information to Federal personnel in public areas... contributors. All CFC Charity Lists must inform employees of their right to make a choice to contribute or not... List: (1) OPM will include in the annual distribution of the National/International and International...

The subject and need of information secrecy with emphasis to the choice of fully using an already established public channel is to be discussed. Related histories and current achievements made in the area of information hiding, notable persons who changed the course of its progress from ancient times to this last ...

..., consistent always with the legitimate public and private interests of the American people. A record requested... National Defense Department of Defense (Continued) OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE (CONTINUED) FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT PROGRAM DOD FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT PROGRAM REGULATION General Provisions § 286...

It is a lawfully necessity that the general public will be informed about matters of radiological risks. For that practitioners have to receive an appropriate knowledge about risk parameters, so the effective dose. Moreover they must do their utmost to give information to their patients, in a context of false ideas and often exaggerated prejudices. (author)

Many public transport operators are faced with high peak demands. This leads to crowded vehicles and discomfort for the passengers. The increasing availability of information technologies creates new opportunities for passengers to avoid crowding and for operators to inform passengers and reallocate

... types of counseling (the remaining 1,700 study participants constitute the control group). Staff of the... Information Collection for Public Comment: Pre-Purchase Homeownership Counseling Demonstration and Impact... Counseling Demonstration and Impact Evaluation. Description of the need for the information and proposed use...

Full Text Available A electric power group enterprises to actively explore the innovation of enterprise culture management, making full use of modern information and communication technologies, construction of trans-regional multimedia information publishing platform. Construction of a municipal pilot units in Group region, for example, through consolidation, Office LANs, corporate networks in electric power communication network, cable TV network, realized with pictures, video, PPT, FLASH animations, WORD documents, WEB pages, video conference streams, radio, television, and other media as the carrier’s digital communications.

Full Text Available Background: Fleets constitute the most important production means in transportation. Their appropriate management is crucial for all companies having transportation duties. The paper is the third one of a series of three papers that the author dedicates to the strategic vehicle fleet management topic. Material and methods: The paper discusses ways of building replacement strategies for companies' fleets of vehicles. It means deciding for how long to exploit particular vehicles in a fleet (the fleet replacement problem - FR. The essence of this problem lies in the minimization of vehicle / fleet exploitation costs by balancing ownership and utilization costs and taking into account budget limitations. In the paper an original mathematical model (an optimization method allowing for the FR analysis is proposed. Results: An application of the proposed optimization method in a real-life decision situation (the case study within the Polish environment and the obtained solution are presented. The solution shows that there exist optimal exploitation periods of particular vehicles in a fleet. However, combination of them gives a replacement plan for an entire fleet violating budget constraints. But it is possible to adjust individual age to replacement of particular vehicles to fulfill budget constraints without losing economical optimality of a developed replacement plan for an entire fleet. Conclusions: The paper is the last one of a series of three papers that the author dedicated to the strategic vehicle fleet management topic including the following managerial decision problems: MAKE-or-BUY, sizing / composition and replacement.

SSE (previously known as Scottish and Southern Energy) operates a diverse portfolio of generation plant, including coal, gas and renewable plant with a total generation capacity of 11,375MW (Sept 2011). In recent years a group of specialists dedicated to providing condition monitoring services has been established at the Equipment Performance Centre (EPC) based at Knottingley, West Yorkshire. We aim to illustrate the role of the EPC and the methods used for monitoring the generation fleet with the objective of maintaining asset integrity, reducing risk of plant failure and unplanned outages and describe the challenges which have been overcome in establishing the EPC. This paper describes methods including vibration and process data analysis, model-based techniques and on-site testing used for monitoring of generation plant, including gas turbines, steam turbines, generators and steam raising plant. These condition monitoring processes utilise available data, adding value to the business, by bringing services in-house and capturing knowledge of plant operation for the benefit of the whole fleet.

This report summarizes the conclusions and recommendations of a working group on the planning of measures to safeguard public health in the event of a nuclear accident. Treatment of irradiated and contaminated people was discussed, and countermeasures such as evacuation or sheltering and iodine prophylaxis were considered. The importance of publicinformation was stressed, and it was recommended that public health authorities develop programmes to select ways of educating and preparing communities located close to the site of a potential nuclear accident

We use an experimental panel study design to investigate the effect of providing "value-neutral" information about genomic science in the form of a short film to a random sample of the British public. We find little evidence of attitude change as a function of information provision. However, our results show that information provision significantly increased dropout from the study amongst less educated respondents. Our findings have implications both for our understanding of the knowledge-attitude relationship in public opinion toward genomic science and for science communication more generally.

Full Text Available This paper outlines an information system for tourists using collective public transport based on mobile devices with limited computation and wireless connection capacities. In this system, the mobile device collaborates with the vehicle infrastructure in order to provide the user with multimedia (visual and audio information about his/her trip. The information delivered, adapted to the user preferences, is synchronized with the passage of vehicles through points of interest along the route, for example: bus stops, tourist sights, public service centres, etc.

Nowadays, learning more about influence groups on public policy making is one of most important subjects of management science. Governments are the primary sources for public policy making but influenced groups participate indirectly and while they remain out of power, they put pressure on many decisions. Some of participants in public policy making are not influenced groups but mostly, due to their participation in policy public making matter are called influenced groups. This research, from...

Public perception of nuclear issues and of the environmental impact is largely dependent on the general public's knowledge and understanding of complex scientific and technical matters which characterize the nuclear world, and on information provided by mass media which primarily tends to emphasize dramatic aspects. Consequently publicinformation must be provided as completely and in as straightforward a manner as possible, and be adapted for people who do not have a clear understanding of nuclear technologies. Information must be objective in all cases, in order to increase credibility over time. This is important because confidence in scientists, and more generally in technical progress, has been eroded. In addition, when providing information, one has to anticipate events as much as possible in order to avoid misunderstandings when crises occur. Explanations during crises will then be better understood and confidence will be maintained. Examples of campaigns undertaken by the French Atomic Energy Commission are given in this paper. (author)

Information Systems Security is a relevant factor for present organizations. Among the security measures, policies assume a central role in literature. However, there is a reduced number of empirical studies about the adoption of information systems security policies. This paper contributes to mitigate this flaw by presenting the results of a survey in the adoption of Information System Security Policies in Local Public Administration in Portugal. The results are discussed in light of literat...

In the Netherlands, publicinformation is often used as an instrument to improve road safety. The purpose of each publicinformation campaign is a voluntary and lasting change in traffic behaviour. This requires road users to have sufficient knowledge about a problem and to adapt their behaviour.

The report describes the work of the Information Systems Group at Risoe National Laboratory during 1989. The activities may be classified as research into human work and cognition, decision support systems, and process control and process simulation. The report includes a list of staff members. (author)

The main objective of the present investigation was to discover whether there is a co-ordination between public and governmental problem recognition, and between demand and supply of nuclear information. Another objective was to identify relevant object groups and to prepare for communication strategy planning. 27 refs., 49 tabs

The working-group deliberations opened with a general discussion centred primarily around the issues introduced in the two papers presented that morning in plenary session: 'Who Are Stakeholders in Environmental Risk Decisions?' and 'Participation of Stakeholders in Waste Management Decisions: The German Experience'. In general, the interventions by the group were open and frank and adequately covered the key issues of the subject. This was followed by a presentation on the views and experience of the current siting debate in Sweden from the perspective of the regulatory bodies and a brief summary by the Chairman of the definition of the public in EU legislation and International Conventions. The majority of the working-group members contributed actively to the debate, and the discussions were conducted in an informal and open-minded manner. Hereinafter are the main observations made during the working group deliberations. (author)

Full Text Available The study aims at exploring the needs of a broad group of stakeholders of Malaysian public universities with respect to information items that should be disclosed in the university annual report, and their views on the disclosure importance of the items. This is a preliminary study towards the effort to develop an accountability reporting framework for Malaysian public universities. A questionnaire survey on the universities‟ stakeholders representing each stakeholder group which include policy makers, students, parents, employers, the public, university management and employees, suppliers and oversight entities was carried out in order to identify and confirm the stakeholders‟ disclosure needs. It is expected that the needs of the stakeholders in terms of information to be reported are comprehensive which include financial and non-financial information; and there are differences in the views on the disclosure importance of information among the stakeholder groups. The findings of this study provide a clear understanding of the information that should be disclosed in the annual reports of Malaysian public universities for accountability purpose. The findings may potentially assist the public universities to improve the way they discharge their public accountability through annual reporting.

followed during a project assignment. The long version of the commonly-used NEO-PI-R test instrument was employed to describe and compare each group member's personality traits at a more detailed level. Data were also collected through a process survey, a diary and an interview. Analysis. The calculation....... Information behaviour associated with personality traits was identified, but the presence of personality effects tended to vary with the perceived presence of the social context. Conclusions. Some matches were identified between group members' personality traits and their actual information behaviour...... but there were also deviations, which were found that seemed to be related to the group-work context. The importance of studying personality traits in context has further been confirmed....

Media facades (often characterized as a building's digital skin) are public displays that substitute dynamic details and information for usually static structures. SMSlingshot is a media facade system at the confluence of art, architecture, and technology design in the context of urban human-computer interaction. It represents a participative approach to public displays that enlivens public spaces and fosters civic and social dialogue as an alternative to advertising and service-oriented information displays. Observations from SMSlingshot's implementation at festival exhibitions provide insight into the roles of scale, distance, and the spatial situation of media facade contexts. The lessons learned apply to most public-display situations and will be useful for designers and developers of this new medium in urban spaces.

buy-in of Tier 1 programs. Groups differed on funding strategies, with alternative options such as large-scale federal funding and smaller scale, incremental funding solutions proposed. Piggybacking on existing federal breast and colorectal cancer control programs was suggested. Public health departments need to assess what information is now being collected by their state cancer registries. The groups advised that information on cascade screening of relatives be included in toolkits for use by states. Participants stressed incorporation of family history into health department breast cancer screening programs, and clinical HBOC data into state surveillance systems. The carrying out of universal LS screening of tumors in those with colorectal cancer was reviewed. Expansion of universal screening to include endometrial tumors was discussed, as was the application of guidelines recommending cholesterol screening of children 9–11 years old. States more advanced in terms of Tier 1 testing could serve as models and partners with other states launching screening and surveillance programs. A multidisciplinary team of screening program champions was suggested as a means of raising awareness among the consumer and health care communities. Participants offered multiple recommendations regarding use of electronic health records, including flagging of at-risk family members and utilization of state-level health information exchanges. The paper contains an update of policy developments and happenings for all three Tier 1 conditions, as well as identified gaps. Conclusions: Implementation of cascade screening of family members for HBOC and FH, and universal screening for LS in CRC tumors has reached a point of readiness within the U.S., with creative solutions at hand. Facilitating factors such as screening coverage through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and state health information exchanges can be tapped. Collaboration is needed between public health

Full Text Available Introduction: The role of sharing information and knowledge which tends to lead to a new understanding of distribution channels, allowing the maturation of sharing concept and its relationship to the process of information management. This interaction arises range of alternatives par as organizations relate internally with employees and externally with your audience. Objects: The goal is to survey and presentation of studies related to information sharing and knowledge channels, trying to identify its correlates in the area of administration. Methodology: The work was developed from a literature search. For both sought to initially align the concepts and terminology of information science area and a second time to identify a differentiated approach to sharing that would contribute to validate the interdisciplinary character of the information area and the contribution that other areas can make to the studies of information management and knowledge. Results: The analysis of the survey indicated considerations relevant to the understanding of the various approaches used in relation to the sharing of channels, as well as the common and different characteristics of these media and the impact on their dynamics. Conclusions: The Support Group terminology is one of several approaches used in the sharing of information and knowledge, and, like the other approaches presented to assess and promote better information services to meet the specific demands.

.... In this book Eileen Milner introduces the reader to the concepts of information and knowledge and explores a variety of tools and techniques which may be usefully adopted in actively managing and developing these resources. Wherever possible, real-life public sector cases and examples are used to illustrate good practice, as well as some of the pitfalls of poor application. Down-to-earth and taking into account the critically important characteristics unique to public services, this will be an illuminati...

Full Text Available The issue to be discussed in this article is to what extent does ICT create new challenges for the relationship between public service providers and users? It is important to recognize the concept of social capital because the concept is vital to the understanding of access to the information society and efficient functioning of government in its service to citizens. In this way we see social capital as a mediating “institution” between public authorities and the citizens (users.

How do we reach the public with the exciting story of Solar System Exploration? How do we encourage girls to think about careers in science, math, engineering and technology? Why should NASA scientists make an effort to reach the public and informal education settings to tell the Solar System Exploration story? These are questions that the Solar System Exploration Forum, a part of the NASA Office of Space Science Education (SSE) and Public Outreach network, has tackled over the past few years. The SSE Forum is a group of education teams and scientists who work to share the excitement of solar system exploration with colleagues, formal educators, and informal educators like museums and youth groups. One major area of the SSE Forum outreach supports the training of Girl Scouts of the USA (GS) leaders and trainers in a suite of activities that reflect NASA missions and science research. Youth groups like Girl Scouts structure their activities as informal education.

Genetic information is used increasingly in health care. Some experts have argued that genetic information is qualitatively different from other medical information and, therefore, raises unique social issues. This view, called "genetic exceptionalism," has importantly influenced recent policy efforts. Others have argued that genetic information is like other medical information and that treating it differently may actually result in unintended disparities. Little is known about how the general public views genetic information. To identify opinions about implications of genetic and other medical information among the general population, we conducted a series of focus groups in Seattle, WA. Participants were women and men between ages 18 and 74, living within 30 miles of Seattle and members of the Group Health Cooperative. A structured discussion guide was used to ensure coverage of all predetermined topics. Sessions lasted approximately 2 hr; were audio taped and transcribed. The transcripts formed the basis of the current analysis. Key findings included the theme that genetic information was much like other medical information and that all sensitive medical information should be well protected. Personal choice (i.e., the right to choose whether to know health risk information and to control who else knows) was reported to be of crucial importance. Participants had an understanding of the tensions involved in protecting privacy versus sharing medical information to help another person. These data may guide future research and policy concerning the use and protection of medical information, including genetic information. (c) 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Recent literature on organisational strategy has called for greater emphasis on individuals (stakeholders) and what they do in the process of strategizing. Public sector organisations have to engage with an array of heterogeneous stakeholders in fulfilling their mandate. The public health sector in particular needs to engage with a diversity of stakeholders at local, regional and national levels when strategising. The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of stakeholder relations on the implementation of Information Systems (IS) strategy in public hospitals in South Africa. An interpretive approach using two provinces was employed. The Activity Analysis and Development (ActAD) framework, an enhanced form of activity theory, was used as the theoretical framework. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews, meetings, documents analysis, physical artefacts and observation. The collected data was analysed using thematic analysis. Findings reveal that IS strategy implementation in public hospitals involves a large and complex network of stakeholder groups at different levels, and over different time periods. These stakeholder groups act in accordance with formal and informal roles, rules and modalities. Various contextual conditions together with the actions of, and interactions between stakeholder groups give rise to the situationality of stakeholder relations dynamics and strategy implementation. The multiple actions and interactions over time lead to the realisation of some aspects of the IS strategy in public hospitals. Given the complexity and dynamism of the context there are also certain unplanned implementations as well. These relationships are captured in a Stakeholder Relations Influence (SRI) framework. The SRI framework can be assistive in the assessment and mapping of stakeholders and stakeholder relations, and the assessment of the implications of these relations for effective IS strategy implementation in public hospitals. The

Following the decision of the French Secretary of State for Health in April 1996, an initial campaign of iodine tablet distribution, within a 10 km radius around nuclear plants was organized by the public authorities in 1997. This decision, which implicitly recognises nuclear risk, forced the public authorities and EDF to initiate communication on the risk, which had never been really addressed. It took the form essentially of an information campaign on the measures to protect the public in the event of a nuclear accident and in particular the effectiveness and methods of iodine protection. (author)

The British nuclear industry approach to the publicinformation is described as the crucial element in nuclear power acceptance. The industry need to be a reliable, trustworthy source of information. There is evidence that when issues are examined in court or in quasi-judicial contexts, the public gains a better appreciation of the issues. The media report both sides of debate more evenly. Therefore the best way to deal with the most hostile opposition may be to take into a legal framework, rather than engage in hand-to-hand battle

A public traded company which wishes to comply with IAS standards and stock exchange requirements for full public disclosure of relevant information faces a major communication task. The Investor Relation policy of such a company has to satisfy a demand for financial information which seems...... line focus to the disclosure of cash flow surrogates like EBITA and EBITDA. Overall, the findings suggest a communication strategy intended to satisfy the demand from the professional analysts. However, the shear number of different key figures and financial ratios identified in the study suggest...

The British nuclear industry approach to the publicinformation is described as the crucial element in nuclear power acceptance. The industry need to be a reliable, trustworthy source of information. There is evidence that when issues are examined in court or in quasi-judicial contexts, the public gains a better appreciation of the issues. The media report both sides of debate more evenly. Therefore the best way to deal with the most hostile opposition may be to take into a legal framework, rather than engage in hand-to-hand battle.

EPA formed this workgroup to assist in meeting its long-term goal of creating a publically-available framework that improves the reporting, quality and efficient use of pesticide incident data to ensure high-quality, science-based pesticide decisions.

One of the most difficult barriers to overcome in the task of gaining greater public acceptance of nuclear power is the widespread lack of correct information about the true risks and benefits of nuclear energy. The news media are the most prevalent sources of information for the public but they are highly constrained by the limits of space, time, and reader/viewer interest span in being able to cover this complex subject with any degree of completeness, much less with any degree of accuracy. Another source of information for the general public is the educational system, and while it also has its limitations, they are somewhat different from those faced by the media, and the educational system is generally considered to be a more credible information source than the media. This paper report on three programs undertaken in 1985 and 1986 by the Virginia Section of the American Nuclear Society (ANS) in conjunction with the University of Virginia (UVA), the Virginia State Department of Education, and various nuclear industry participants. Each program had its unique features, successes, an failures. All-in-all, these programs have been reported as being quite successful in helping to reach the public through informing the educators

A program called ``Innovative Billing?? has been developed to provide individualized energy information for a mass audience?the entireresidential customer base of an electric or gas utility. Customers receive a graph on the bill that compares that customer?s consumption with othersimilar customers for the same month. The program aims to stimulate customers to make ef?ciency improvements. To group as many as severalmillion customers into small ``comparison groups??, an automated method must be developed drawing solely from the data available to the utility.This paper develops and applies methods to compare the quality of resulting comparison groups.A data base of 114,000 customers from a utility billing system was used to evaluate Innovative Billing comparison groups, comparing fouralternative criteria: house characteristics (?oor area, housing type, and heating fuel); street; meter read route; billing cycle. Also, customers wereinterviewed to see what forms of comparison graphs made most sense and led to fewest errors of interpretation. We ?nd that good qualitycomparison groups result from using street name, meter book, or multiple house characteristics. Other criteria we tested, such as entire cycle, entiremeter book, or single house characteristics such as ?oor area, resulted in poor quality comparison groups. This analysis provides a basis forchoosing comparison groups based on extensive user testing and statistical analysis. The result is a practical set of guidelines that can be used toimplement realistic, inexpensive innovative billing for the entire customer base of an electric or gas utility.

In this presentation the author addresses four main objectives. They are to: discuss programs that are driving the introduction of alternative fuels into fleet operations in urban areas around the country; define alternative fuels; quantify the present use and future projections on alternative fuel vehicles (AVFs) in the Chicago metropolitan statistical area; and discuss benefits of increased use of alternative fuels in urban areas. Factors which touch on these points include: present domestic dependence on petroleum for autos, with usage exceeding production; the large populations in urban areas which do not meet Clean Air Standards; recent legislative initiatives which give guidance and aid in the adoption of such strategies.

In this presentation the author addresses four main objectives. They are to: discuss programs that are driving the introduction of alternative fuels into fleet operations in urban areas around the country; define alternative fuels; quantify the present use and future projections on alternative fuel vehicles (AVFs) in the Chicago metropolitan statistical area; and discuss benefits of increased use of alternative fuels in urban areas. Factors which touch on these points include: present domestic dependence on petroleum for autos, with usage exceeding production; the large populations in urban areas which do not meet Clean Air Standards; recent legislative initiatives which give guidance and aid in the adoption of such strategies

The report highlights the activities of the working group in raising awareness of the need for geographical names standardization and the work of the Group of Experts, particularly in advancing the digital presence of UNGEGN, through web presence and updated Media Kit and Wikipedia presence...

The nuclear energy industry challenge to gain acceptance for its next generation of nuclear power plants is immense. If not the majority, then a vocal minority, has doubts about the technology, its need, or those who implement it. Perceptions about the nuclear industry are complex. These are due to the difficulty in understanding the technology itself, the trade-offs of benefits against repercussions, and well-publicized plant problems. The industry requires a continual flow of actionable and comprehensive market information as input for decision making. The cost of implementing misdirected strategies is high. If not sensitive to public needs, the cost is opposition to nuclear development based on faulty or unsubstantiated reasoning. This paper addresses the required market information flow. It is suggested that a market information system is necessary for timely and usable information to ensure understanding of industry developmental efforts

To cooperatively transport a large load, it is important that carriers conform in their efforts and align their forces. A downside of behavioural conformism is that it may decrease the group's responsiveness to external information. Combining experiment and theory, we show how ants optimize collective transport. On the single-ant scale, optimization stems from decision rules that balance individuality and compliance. Macroscopically, these rules poise the system at the transition between random walk and ballistic motion where the collective response to the steering of a single informed ant is maximized. We relate this peak in response to the divergence of susceptibility at a phase transition. Our theoretical models predict that the ant-load system can be transitioned through the critical point of this mesoscopic system by varying its size; we present experiments supporting these predictions. Our findings show that efficient group-level processes can arise from transient amplification of individual-based knowledge.

The study aimed at better understanding of specific information needs as well as of how the public perceives the issue of radioactive contamination. Main conclusions of the study:1. Information is lacking 2. Great concern for health effects of radiation 3. Poverty is a worry. Study results are very much consistent with the ideas of 2002 UN Report: Human Consequences of the Chernobyl Accident: A Strategy for Recovery

Full Text Available In traditional public good experiments participants receive an endowment from the experimenter that can be invested in a public good or kept in a private account. In this paper we present an experimental environment where participants can invest time during five days to contribute to a public good. Participants can make contributions to a linear public good by logging into a web application and performing virtual actions. We compared four treatments, with different group sizes and information of (relative performance of other groups. We find that information feedback about performance of other groups has a small positive effect if we control for various attributes of the groups. Moreover, we find a significant effect of the contributions of others in the group in the previous day on the number of points earned in the current day. Our results confirm that people participate more when participants in their group participate more, and are influenced by information about the relative performance of other groups.

This project was designed to test and demonstrate the use of a high- percentage ethanol-blended fuel in a fleet of heavy-duty, over-the- road trucks, paying particular attention to emissions, performance, and repair and maintenance costs. This project also represents the first public demonstration of the use of ethanol fuels as a viable alternative to conventional diesel fuel in heavy-duty engines.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited Austere funding and the increased administrative burdens being placed on fleet units will ultimately take their toll on performance, morale and combat readiness. Applying low cost microcomputer technology presents one method to alleviate many of these burdens. However, the current implementation process being used is not sufficient to meet the needs of the Fleet. Empirical evidence indicates that expenditures on computers are not ac...

The timely and accurate dissemination to the public of information derived from the site characterization activities on the Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project (YMP) has sometimes been difficult to achieve. The YMP has many participants who are involved in the gathering and analysis of scientific and engineering data for site characterization. The diversity of the scientific disciplines involved, the uncentralized location of the participant organizations, the difficulty of being able to ask the right questions of the right people, and the translation of technical jargon into understandable terms are but a few of the challenges. The public outreach program of the YMP has done an excellent job of compiling and distributing information over the past few years, but, with the diversity and expansion of field activities in the last two years, the job has become more formidable. A new approach to help resolve this obstacle was instituted in April of 1993, and has been successful in achieving a much more timely and user-friendly discussion of technical information for the public. What is the new approach? The assignment of a technical expert to the public outreach staff whose job is to know what is going on, who is doing what, and what the results are. Based on that knowledge, factual summaries can be generated rapidly and presented to the public in the context of the overall project goals and in a form suitable for a wide range of audiences

The Joint Action Group (JAG) for Environmental Cleanup of the Muggah Creek Watershed in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia is a new community-driven process in which a group of individuals have cooperated in one of the largest remediation projects in Canada. The group plays an advisory role to the government in identifying what should be done to remediate the Muggah Creek watershed and the Sydney Tar Ponds. The Muggah Creek watershed area includes a municipal landfill site, the coke ovens site and the Muggah Creek estuary (Sydney Tar Ponds). This report contains an analysis of the responses of a sample of 600 households in industrial Cape Breton to a telephone survey designed to measure community awareness and knowledge of JAG, its working groups, and the Muggah Creek Watershed Cleanup process, and identify community concerns regarding the process. tabs.

The Joint Action Group (JAG) for Environmental Cleanup of the Muggah Creek Watershed in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia is a new community-driven process in which a group of individuals have cooperated in one of the largest remediation projects in Canada. The group plays an advisory role to the government in identifying what should be done to remediate the Muggah Creek watershed and the Sydney Tar Ponds. The Muggah Creek watershed area includes a municipal landfill site, the coke ovens site and the Muggah Creek estuary (Sydney Tar Ponds). This report contains an analysis of the responses of a sample of 600 households in industrial Cape Breton to a telephone survey designed to measure community awareness and knowledge of JAG, its working groups, and the Muggah Creek Watershed Cleanup process, and identify community concerns regarding the process. tabs

The report presents the aims and activities of the working group and in its efforts with raising awareness of the need for geographical names standardization and the work of the Group of Experts, through presence on the web and social media and Media Kit. The report also highlights efforts to find...... financial support for training and for representatives from developing countries attending UNSCGN Conferences and UNGEGN Sessions....

JSC has used E-85 as part of an overall strategy to comply with Presidential Executive Order 13423 and the Energy Policy Act. As a Federal fleet, we are required to reduce our petroleum consumption by 2 percent per year, and increase the use of alternative fuels in our vehicles. With the opening of our onsite dispenser in October 2004, JSC became the second federal fleet in Texas and the fifth NASA center to add E-85 fueling capability. JSC has a relatively small number of GSA Flex Fuel fleet vehicles at the present time (we don't include personal vehicles, or other contractor's non-GSA fleet), and there were no reasonably available retail E-85 fuel stations within a 15-minute drive or within five miles (one way). So we decided to install a small 1000 gallon onsite tank and dispenser. It was difficult to obtain a supplier due to our low monthly fuel consumption, and our fuel supplier contract has changed three times in less than five years. We experiences a couple of fuel contamination and quality control issues. JSC obtained good information on E-85 from the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition (NEVC). We also spoke with Defense Energy Support Center, (DESC), Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, and US Army Fort Leonard Wood. E-85 is a liquid fuel that is dispensed into our Flexible Fuel Vehicles identically to regular gasoline, so it was easy for our vehicle drivers to make the transition.

Full Text Available Formation of tractors park and its perspective development are carried out on the basis of realization and improvement of the scientifically based types range constructed on a traction classification sign which conforms to requirements of agricultural production when performing two main conditions: full meeting the requirements for various standard sizes of tractors applicable to conditions of the corresponding zones of Russia and continuous reproduction and development of tractor fleet, both by quantity of efficient machinery and its structure. The developed types range practically runs the gamut of organizational and economic and climatic conditions, and also all range of forms of the organizations using machinery, beginning from individual consumers, small and large rent and contract collectives and finishing large-scale enterprises and their associations. Federal Service of State Statistics (Rosstat information about a steady tendency of fleet reduction was used for studying of regularities of development of tractor fleet. This information was added by analytical synthesis of data about the annual brand purchases in the Russian market of agricultural tractors. The developed database shows a share of the tractors in fleets of agricultural organizations, which are used over depreciation term, and also minimum necessary number of new machines introduction for formation of volume of tractors with limit age and the total quantity of tractors necessary for minimization of set of expenses. It was established that it is possible to estimate visually the developed quantitative and age structure of tractors fleet and to predict its development on prospect by worked out database representing set of annual tractors brand lines purchasing.

This study ex amine d the relationship between public -private partnership in the provision of Information Communication Technology (ICT) resources and academic library services in the South - East geo -political zone Nigeria. Seventeen (17) academic institutions (made up of nine universities and eight polytechnics) were ...

This guide, designed to accompany a videocassette of selected television spots is a compendium of specific drunk driving topics and issues for each of the major planning steps of a publicinformation program. The guide is organized around these steps, which are (1) select program strategies, (2) select target audiences, (3) select media channels,…

Contends that an entrepreneurial model of librarianship contradicts traditional ideals of free and equal access to information and argues that such a model threatens the future of the library as a vital public sphere of democratic culture. Discusses broad trends of advanced capitalism to provide a context for the critical interpretation of issues…

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) regulates covered state government and alternative fuel provider fleets, pursuant to the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPAct), as amended. Covered fleets may meet their EPAct requirements through one of two compliance methods: Standard Compliance or Alternative Compliance. For model year (MY) 2015, the compliance rate with this program for the more than 3011 reporting fleets was 100%. More than 294 fleets used Standard Compliance and exceeded their aggregate MY 2015 acquisition requirements by 8% through acquisitions alone. The seven covered fleets that used Alternative Compliance exceeded their aggregate MY 2015 petroleum use reduction requirements by 46%.

Full Text Available In the article the development of the Greek fleet in the period of last ten years was discussed. The Greek fleet is an example of accommodating itself to the requirements of the global and innovative economy. Greek shipowners are developing their fleets through the consolidation and replacing older ships with new generation vessels. They are invest-ing into ships adapted for new markets, including LNG maritime transport market. As a result of it Greece became a market leader in maritime transport sector and their fleet a biggest and youngest fleet of world in 2016.

The Centre for BioSystems Genomics (CBSG) is a Dutch public-private partnership in plant genomics active in potato and tomato research and exploitation. Its Societal Interface Group (SIG) has been developed to inform its communication strategy and governance practice. This new instrument identifies

As part of a larger study of the effects of giving patients written take-home information with prescription medications, a "patient package insert" (PPI) for diazepam was prepared based on content determined by "experts." This report compares the experts' judgments of what information should be included with judgments obtained from the public. Information judged to be most important for inclusion in a PPI was identified by having subjects sort cards containing facts about diazepam. Subjects who had previously used diazepam were no different in their judgments than inexperienced subjects. In general, there was a high degree of concordance between public and expert judgments and also a remarkably strong consensus across very different demographic samples. In those few instances of disagreement, the public attached even greater importance to warnings and "bad news" about diazepam than to information providing reassurances, benign general education, and "good news." To what extent patients would effectively use this information--whether conveyed by PPIs or alternative educational routes--must await empirical evaluation.

Center of PublicInformation (CPI) in North West region of Russian Federation is a part of the State Regional Educational Center of Ministry of the Russian Federation on atomic energy. The premises of the Centre (about 500 sq. rn.) include the exposition hall, video hall, the hall for press conferences, rooms for meetings, conferences. CPI provides the visitor with the wide range of information dealing with the nuclear power. It was opened in the structure of State Regional Educational Centre in 1997. Regional Centre of PublicInformation of MINATOM of Russia in Saint Petersburg was created according to the agreement with the European Union Commission in the framework of the TACIS program with the participation of French companies EDF, COGEMA, STEPFER. The objectives of the CPI are discussed (authors)

The security and privacy are important issues for electronic patient records (EPRs). The goal of EPRs is sharing the patients' medical histories such as the diagnosis records, reports and diagnosis image files among hospitals by the Internet. So the security issue for the integrated EPR information system is essential. That is, to ensure the information during transmission through by the Internet is secure and private. The group password-based authenticated key agreement (GPAKE) allows a group of users like doctors, nurses and patients to establish a common session key by using password authentication. Then the group of users can securely communicate by using this session key. Many approaches about GAPKE employ the public key infrastructure (PKI) in order to have higher security. However, it not only increases users' overheads and requires keeping an extra equipment for storing long-term secret keys, but also requires maintaining the public key system. This investigation presents a simple group password-based authenticated key agreement (SGPAKE) protocol for the integrated EPR information system. The proposed SGPAKE protocol does not require using the server or users' public keys. Each user only remembers his weak password shared with a trusted server, and then can obtain a common session key. Then all users can securely communicate by using this session key. The proposed SGPAKE protocol not only provides users with convince, but also has higher security.

Japan depends on import for more than 80 percent of its total energy supply. Nuclear energy is one of the most promising alternatives to oil. It plays a significant role for energy supply in terms of reliability, economic viability and reduction of CO 2 emissions. In order to secure needed capacity, the Government concentrates its efforts on acquiring public acceptance of nuclear power as well as ensuring the safety of plants and improving plant capability and reliability. An opinion poll, done by the Japanese Government in Sep. of 1990, showed that 73.3 percent of man and 57.4 percent of women think that nuclear power is necessary to secure energy supply. Nuclear Power Engineering Corporation (NUPEC) employs various methods for information services arid, in particular, electric power generation including nuclear with an assignment from the Japanese Government. Publicinformation activities by the Nuclear Power Engineering Corporation (NUPEC) are as follows: a) Telephone QA service to respond to public inquiries; b) Publishing the 'Nuclear Newsletter' monthly and various brochures; c) Information service by personal computer network Atomnet concerning energy in general, and operation/trouble informations of nuclear plants; d) Distribution and service of personal computers to local governments offices/museums, etc., for users ranging from children to adults to gather nuclear related information; e) Organization of female monitors 'ENE-MATES' to have lecture meetings and site tours. ENE-MATES - A PublicInformation Program For Women. As a 1990 opinion poll shows, women's feelings about nuclear energy differ from that of men. Women are more sensitive and anxious than men on nuclear energy issues. To improve this situation several programs for women have been planned and implemented.'ENE-MATES' program is one of these cases. It's purpose is to encourage women, centering around house wives, to have unbiased understanding of energy-related issues

On behalf of the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, the Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority has developed an information package about electromagnetic fields from power lines and mobile phones/base stations. The report describes the process around identification of target groups, cooperation with organizations and independent experts and how this has contributed to the development of the information materials. (Author)

Full Text Available With the further development of information and communication technology and a growing use of smart phones, the significance of Geographic Information System - GIS will indisputably continue to grow. This is supported by the fact that in the last decade geotechnology has been identified as one of the fastest growing technologies, along with biotechnology and nanotechnology. Even though GIS is increasingly being utilized in the Republic of Serbia, it appears that its use with some providers of public services is mainly deduced to showing spatial data with quite limited possibilities for a further analysis - which represents the essence of the use of GIS. The scope of this paper is to stress the outstanding analytical potential that GIS has in the domain of offering and improving various public services in the Republic of Serbia. The paper uses the examples of good practice in the sphere of the health system, public safety, rescue services and local government. The covered examples show that the use of the analytical component of GIS in everyday activities of the mentioned public services can make their work not only more transparent to the public, but considerably more efficient as well. This way, the analytical component of GIS enables decision-makers to improve the management of frequently limited available resources, while proving a higher level of the service quality to citizens as the final users.

In the Netherlands, the public image of radioactive waste and the management, related with it, was very negative in the early eighties. One of the reasons obviously was that the radioactive waste management system was not clearly defined up till then. The Centrale Organisatie Voor Radioacief Afval, COVRA, was founded in 1982 by Dutch government; COVRA had the task to reorganize the waste management business and also obtained the task to inform the public about the waste issue and what had to be done with it. It was possible to create a positive atmosphere for publicinformation by bringing the public to the waste, actually showing what it was, what we do with it, what the result of this all will be and what we consider to be the actual risks involved, without exaggerating it. We tried to be as open as possible, to create access to the waste as far as possible, and we learned that the waste should be the center point of the visitors center. We tried to avoid that the public would not be able to see for itself what has be done to secure the surroundings and the environment for possibly negative effects resulting from the waste or its treatment or the interim storage of it

The François Massieu 1869 idea to derive some mechanical and thermal properties of physical systems from 'Characteristic Functions', was developed by Gibbs and Duhem in thermodynamics with the concept of potentials, and introduced by Poincaré in probability. This paper deals with generalization of this Characteristic Function concept by Jean-Louis Koszul in Mathematics and by Jean-Marie Souriau in Statistical Physics. The Koszul-Vinberg Characteristic Function (KVCF) on convex cones will be presented as cornerstone of 'Information Geometry' theory, defining Koszul Entropy as Legendre transform of minus the logarithm of KVCF, and Fisher Information Metrics as hessian of these dual functions, invariant by their automorphisms. In parallel, Souriau has extended the Characteristic Function in Statistical Physics looking for other kinds of invariances through co-adjoint action of a group on its momentum space, defining physical observables like energy, heat and momentum as pure geometrical objects. In covariant Souriau model, Gibbs equilibriums states are indexed by a geometric parameter, the Geometric (Planck) Temperature, with values in the Lie algebra of the dynamical Galileo/Poincaré groups, interpreted as a space-time vector, giving to the metric tensor a null Lie derivative. Fisher Information metric appears as the opposite of the derivative of Mean 'Moment map' by geometric temperature, equivalent to a Geometric Capacity or Specific Heat. These elements has been developed by author in [10][11].

Resource managers can apply group-specific rather than generic communications and management strategies to different public land user groups. This study compares use patterns of one user group, Boy Scout troops, from two regions of the United States. It identifies their public land use patterns, activities, needs, and motivations. Results can be used by resource...

Full text: Good safety culture is strongly related to transparent and timely information. Experience has shown that radiation and nuclear safety are under continuous surveillance by the public. The provision of open and authentic information to the public is a fundamental policy of the SNSA. The SNSA endeavors to provide substantial and reliable information to the interested institutions, mass media and to the citizens through press conferences, public statements, media discussions, and active participation in domestic and international meetings, symposia and congresses, through publications, the Internet and direct contacts with the interested public. The SNSA regularly provides information on nuclear safety to the Government, the National Assembly and the citizens of the Republic of Slovenia. The Annual Report on Nuclear and Radiation Safety is published in Poroeevalec (Reporter) - the publication of the National Assembly - in autumn, and is available in public libraries throughout Slovenia. Annual Report is available also on the Internet (http://www.sigov.si/ursjv/uvod.html) in Slovene and English. Access to data of the Central Radiation Early Warning System of Slovenia (CROSS), recording the real time (at half-hour intervals) gamma dose rate levels, is also available through Internet. The report in English is sent every year to Slovenian embassies world-wide, to certain foreign embassies in Slovenia and to other organizations participating in the activities in the nuclear and radiological field. Reports on the SNSA activities are also published in the bulletin Okolje in prostor (Environment and Spatial Planning), published by the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning. The SNSA regularly contributes articles on courses, seminars and symposia attended at home and abroad. The articles are intended to give basic information on training and the names of contact persons to provide additional information on certain topics to those interested. More than half of

These six case studies examined the use of different biodiesel blends as fuel supply sources for businesses in British Columbia (BC). In the first case study, 6 municipalities participated in a pilot program designed to compare the performance of biodiesel and diesel fuels. Each municipality operated 2 base vehicles running on conventional diesel along with 2 similar vehicles which used biodiesel. Real time emissions tests and analyses of the vehicles using biodiesel were also conducted by 2 of the participating municipalities. All municipalities participating in the study agreed to purchase significant volumes of biodiesel. The second case study described a pilot study conducted by the City of Vancouver's equipment services branch in 2004. As a result of the study, the city now has over 530 types of equipment that use biodiesel. The third case study described a program designed by TSI Terminals in Vancouver to assess the emission reduction impact of using biodiesel at its port facility. Six different pieces of equipment were used to confirm that biodiesel could be used throughout the terminal. Test results confirmed that biodiesel blends could be used to reduce emissions. Overall emissions were reduced by 30 per cent. The fourth case study described a waste renderer that used a fleet of 36 trucks to deliver raw products to its plants. The company made the decision to use only biodiesel for its entire fleet of trucks. Since July 2005, the company has logged over 1.7 million km using biodiesel blends. The fifth case study described a salmon hatchery that switched from diesel to biodiesel in order to reduce emissions. The biodiesel blends are used to fuel the hatchery's 2 diesel generators. The hatchery has reduced emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) by an estimated 1800 tonnes annually. The sixth case study described how the Township of Langley has started using biodiesel for its entire fleet of of approximately 250 pieces of equipment. The township has not

To prepare for pandemics, countries are creating pandemic preparedness plans. These plans frequently include crisis communication strategies that recommend conducting pre-crisis audience research to increase the effectiveness and relevance of communication with the public. To begin understanding the communication needs of the public and health care workers, 11 focus groups were conducted in Vancouver, Canada, in 2006 and 2007 to identify what information people want to receive and how they want to receive it. In the event of a pandemic, participants want to know their risk of infection and how sick they could become if infected. To make decisions about using vaccines and drugs, they want information that enables them to assess the risks of using the products. The public prefers to receive this information from family doctors, the Internet, and schools. Health care workers prefer to receive information in e-mails and in-services.

This presentation discusses the public relations work through exhibitions and fairs. Fairs and exhibitions provide an ideal opportunity to contact the target groups directly: political and economic opinion-makers; media representatives; insiders; young people and schoolchildren; interested public. During exhibitions the interested visitors are also supplied with extensive information material, mostly free of charge. An example the photo atlas 'Nuclear Energy in Germany' which we offered in an English edition as well and is attached to this presentation

know or can learn may be advantageous to defenders. If defend- ers are unaware that a terrorist group knows about a particular vulnerability, that...cases, this information is necessarily in the public domain because it provides an important service. For instance, as noted above, ecommerce sites for

The purpose of this review is to establish a conceptual framework on the role of information systems in public health care. Information is indispensable for effective management and development of health services and therefore considered as an important operational asset or resource. A Health Information System is mainly required to support management and operations at four levels: namely transactional and functional; operational control; management planning and control; and strategic planning. To provide the necessary information needs of users at these levels of management in the health care system, a structured information system coupled with appropriate information technology is required. Adequate and relevant information is needed regarding population characteristics, resources available and expended, output and outcome of health care activities. Additionally information needs to be reliable, accurate, timely, easily accessible and presented in a compact and meaningful form. With a well-planned health information system health authorities would be in a position to provide a quality, cost-effective and efficient health service for as many people as need it, optimal utilisation of resources and to maintain and improve the community's health status.

The purpose of the National Waste Terminal Storage (NWTS) Program is to site, construct and operate nuclear waste repositories at several locations. Recent experience indicates that the public is aware of the problems of nuclear waste disposal, and correspondingly there is public concern about how and where to dispose of nuclear wastes. The selection of sites involves a wide range of considerations including geological, technical and environmental feasibility. In addition to these, it is important that societal acceptance of repository options also be taken into account in moving foward with the NWTS Program. Such an incorporation of social considerations and preferences correspondingly implies the need for public consultation in the site selection process. In exploring the concept and state-or-the-art of public involvement in public policy decision, a number of important questions are relevant: (1) What are the basic objectives of public participation in policy formation and program decisions. (2) Who are the ''publics'' that should be involved and how can they be identified. (3) What information should be communicated between the agency and the publics. (4) What techniques are available to elicit public participation and involvement and what are their capabilities. At the outset, it should be noted that the purpose of this paper in addressing these questions is not to design public participation procedures for the NWTS program. Rather, the above are questions that provide a broad framework for developing an understanding of citizen participation in public policy decisions, such as nuclear waste disposal. In this sense, the following discussion is to provide a context and guidance for approaching the problem of organizing and structuring involvement in the NWTS program. Annotated bibliography of 95 references is included

The purpose of the National Waste Terminal Storage (NWTS) Program is to site, construct and operate nuclear waste repositories at several locations. Recent experience indicates that the public is aware of the problems of nuclear waste disposal, and correspondingly there is public concern about how and where to dispose of nuclear wastes. The selection of sites involves a wide range of considerations including geological, technical and environmental feasibility. In addition to these, it is important that societal acceptance of repository options also be taken into account in moving foward with the NWTS Program. Such an incorporation of social considerations and preferences correspondingly implies the need for public consultation in the site selection process. In exploring the concept and state-or-the-art of public involvement in public policy decision, a number of important questions are relevant: (1) What are the basic objectives of public participation in policy formation and program decisions. (2) Who are the ''publics'' that should be involved and how can they be identified. (3) What information should be communicated between the agency and the publics. (4) What techniques are available to elicit public participation and involvement and what are their capabilities. At the outset, it should be noted that the purpose of this paper in addressing these questions is not to design public participation procedures for the NWTS program. Rather, the above are questions that provide a broad framework for developing an understanding of citizen participation in public policy decisions, such as nuclear waste disposal. In this sense, the following discussion is to provide a context and guidance for approaching the problem of organizing and structuring involvement in the NWTS program. Annotated bibliography of 95 references is included.

dependence on vote shares induces fur- ther moderation and improves welfare. If parties are asymmetric, vote share dependent public funding bene…ts the large party and makes it moderate its candidate, while the smaller party reacts by choosing a more extremist candidate. On balance, however, if the parties......The paper considers public funding of political parties when some voters are poorly informed about parties’ candidates and campaigns are informative. For symmetric equilibria, it is shown that more pub- lic funding leads parties to chose more moderate candidates, and that an increase in the funding’s...... are not too asymmetric, an increase in vote share dependent funding improves welfare and increases the likelihood that a moderate candidate wins the election...

... diligence in order to approve the mixed-finance development of public housing prior to a financial closing... Information for Public Comment for: Public/ Private Partnerships for the Mixed-Finance Development of Public... comments on the subject proposal. The 1998 Public Housing Reform Act allowed the Mixed-Finance development...

An analysis of the problem 'nuclear energy and the public' leads to the following findings: 1) one has to find out what exactly worries the citizen, because otherwise the information one supplies is not relevant; 2) information, and nothing else, is not enough if the opposition is based on emotion. This where trust is needed and not printed paper; 3) the basis of trust is the relationship between humans. The proponents of nuclear energy act too much as institutions, they are 'not human'. (RW) [de

This circular provides information on shipment of spent fuel subject to regulation by US NRC. It provides a brief description of spent fuel shipment safety and safeguards requirement of general interest, a summary of data for 1979-1995 highway and railway shipments, and a listing, by State, of recent highway and railway shipment routes. The enclosed route information reflects specific NRC approvals that have been granted in response to requests for shipments of spent fuel. This publication does not constitute authority for carriers or other persons to use the routes described to ship spent fuel, other categories of nuclear waste, or other materials

Providing publicinformation is one of the main activities of The Nuclear Training Centre (ICJT) at the Jozef Stefan Institute. Our primary target is students of primary and secondary schools. The lecture they listen to during their visit to our centre was old fashioned since we used classic overhead projector. We have modernized it with an LCD projector and computer-based interactive presentation in order to improve students' comprehension. (author)

A study of the occupational stress norm and it's application for the marketing group, public service/safety group and production laborer group. In this study, cross-sectional study method is used, and a synthetic way of sorting and randomized sampling is adopted to deal with research targets (36 marketing group, 331 public service/safety group, 903 production laborer group). Descriptive statistics for OSI-R scale scores for the marketing group, public service/safety group and production laborer group were modulated. Scale raw score to T-score conversion tables derived from the OSI-R normative sample for marketing grouppublic service/safety group and production laborer group were established. OSI-R profile from for marketing group, public service/safety group and production laborer group were established. For the ORQ and PSQ scales, scores at or above 70 indicate a strong levels of maladaptive stress and strain. Score in the range of 60 to 69 suggest middle levels of maladaptive stress and strain. Score in the range of 40 to 59 indicate normal levels of stress and strain. Score below 40 indicate a relative absence of occupational stress and strain. For the PRQ scales, score below 30 indicate a significant lack of coping resources. Score in the range of 30 to 39 suggest middle deficits in coping resources. Score in the range of 40 to 59 indicate average coping resources. Scores at or above 60 indicate a strong levels of coping resources. The authors combined subjective and objective environment match model of occupational stress. Different intervention measure should be take to reduce the occupational stress so as to improve the work ability.

... through the Freedom of Information Act. Written documentation of policies relating to public housing and... . Persons with hearing or speech impairments may access this number through TTY by calling the toll-free... is not a toll-free number). Persons with hearing or speech impairments may access this number via TTY...

In his book Multimedia Learning [7], Richard Mayer asserts that viewers learn best from imagery that provides them with cues to help them organize new information into the correct knowledge structures. Designers have long been exploiting the Gestalt laws of visual grouping to deliver viewers those cues using visual hierarchy, often communicating structures much more complex than the simple organizations studied in psychological research. Unfortunately, designers are largely practical in their work, and have not paused to build a complex theory of structural communication. If we are to build a tool to help novices create effective and well structured visuals, we need a better understanding of how to create them. Our work takes a first step toward addressing this lack, studying how five of the many grouping cues (proximity, color similarity, common region, connectivity, and alignment) can be effectively combined to communicate structured text and imagery from real world examples. To measure the effectiveness of this structural communication, we applied a digital version of card sorting, a method widely used in anthropology and cognitive science to extract cognitive structures. We then used tree edit distance to measure the difference between perceived and communicated structures. Our most significant findings are: 1) with careful design, complex structure can be communicated clearly; 2) communicating complex structure is best done with multiple reinforcing grouping cues; 3) common region (use of containers such as boxes) is particularly effective at communicating structure; and 4) alignment is a weak structural communicator.

It is cause for concern when a democratically elected government suppresses embarrassing information by hindering public health research or the publication of research findings. We conducted a survey of Australian public health academics to estimate the level of acts of suppression of research by Australian governments, to characterise these events, and to gather views on what interventions might be effective in curbing them. A total of 302 academics in 17 institutions completed a postal questionnaire in August 2006 (46% of 652 invited). The instrument sought details of suppression events they had witnessed since 2001. There were 142 suppression events, including 85 personally experienced by 21.2% (n=64) of respondents. The rates were higher in 2005/06 than in earlier years. No State or Territory was immune from suppression. Although governments most commonly hindered research by sanitising, delaying or prohibiting publications (66% of events), no part of the research process was unaffected. Researchers commonly believed their work was targeted because it drew attention to failings in health services (48%), the health status of a vulnerable group (26%), or pointed to a harm in the environment (11%). The government agency seeking to suppress the health information mostly succeeded (87%) and, consequently, the public was left uninformed or given a false impression. Respondents identified a full range of participative, cognitive, structural and legislative control strategies. The suppression of public health information is widely practised by Australian governments. Systemic interventions are necessary to preserve the integrity of public health research conducted with government involvement.

Physical systems differing in their microscopic details often display strikingly similar behaviour when probed at macroscopic scales. Those universal properties, largely determining their physical characteristics, are revealed by the powerful renormalization group (RG) procedure, which systematically retains `slow' degrees of freedom and integrates out the rest. However, the important degrees of freedom may be difficult to identify. Here we demonstrate a machine-learning algorithm capable of identifying the relevant degrees of freedom and executing RG steps iteratively without any prior knowledge about the system. We introduce an artificial neural network based on a model-independent, information-theoretic characterization of a real-space RG procedure, which performs this task. We apply the algorithm to classical statistical physics problems in one and two dimensions. We demonstrate RG flow and extract the Ising critical exponent. Our results demonstrate that machine-learning techniques can extract abstract physical concepts and consequently become an integral part of theory- and model-building.

activities, but increased odds for more days of work participation in the intervention group (OR = 1.83 95% CI: 1.08-3.12). Furthermore, the intervention group was more likely to report: higher work ability, reduced visits to healthcare professionals, lower bothersomeness, lower levels of sadness......BACKGROUND: Low back pain (LBP) is common in the population and multifactorial in nature, often involving negative consequences. Reassuring information to improve coping is recommended for reducing the negative consequences of LBP. Adding a simple non-threatening explanation for the pain (temporary......-randomized controlled trial. METHODS: Publically employed workers (n = 505) from 11 Danish municipality centers were randomized at center-level (cluster) to either intervention (two 1-hour group-based talks at the workplace) or control. The talks provided reassuring information together with a simple non...

Full Text Available The Canary Islands receive 10 million tourists every year. Tourism represents a key sector for economic development in the Canaries. This work presents the benefits of open data usages in the tourism sector both in municipalities and in the island government. These public institutions have valuable information that should be shared with other institutions: 600 hotels and apartments, 10,000 bars and restaurants, and more than 15,000 retail businesses. This article describes an open data project to validate and to publish such data across multiple administrations. The main benefits for the public sector are the improvement of the data quality and the interoperability between different administrations.

Full Text Available Abstract Background Core competencies for public health in Canada require proficiency in evidence informed decision making (EIDM. However, decision makers often lack access to information, many workers lack knowledge and skills to conduct systematic literature reviews, and public health settings typically lack infrastructure to support EIDM activities. This research was conducted to explore and describe critical factors and dynamics in the early implementation of one public health unit's strategic initiative to develop capacity to make EIDM standard practice. Methods This qualitative case study was conducted in one public health unit in Ontario, Canada between 2008 and 2010. In-depth information was gathered from two sets of semi-structured interviews and focus groups (n = 27 with 70 members of the health unit, and through a review of 137 documents. Thematic analysis was used to code the key informant and document data. Results The critical factors and dynamics for building EIDM capacity at an organizational level included: clear vision and strong leadership, workforce and skills development, ability to access research (library services, fiscal investments, acquisition and development of technological resources, a knowledge management strategy, effective communication, a receptive organizational culture, and a focus on change management. Conclusion With leadership, planning, commitment and substantial investments, a public health department has made significant progress, within the first two years of a 10-year initiative, towards achieving its goal of becoming an evidence informed decision making organization.

Core competencies for public health in Canada require proficiency in evidence informed decision making (EIDM). However, decision makers often lack access to information, many workers lack knowledge and skills to conduct systematic literature reviews, and public health settings typically lack infrastructure to support EIDM activities. This research was conducted to explore and describe critical factors and dynamics in the early implementation of one public health unit's strategic initiative to develop capacity to make EIDM standard practice. This qualitative case study was conducted in one public health unit in Ontario, Canada between 2008 and 2010. In-depth information was gathered from two sets of semi-structured interviews and focus groups (n = 27) with 70 members of the health unit, and through a review of 137 documents. Thematic analysis was used to code the key informant and document data. The critical factors and dynamics for building EIDM capacity at an organizational level included: clear vision and strong leadership, workforce and skills development, ability to access research (library services), fiscal investments, acquisition and development of technological resources, a knowledge management strategy, effective communication, a receptive organizational culture, and a focus on change management. With leadership, planning, commitment and substantial investments, a public health department has made significant progress, within the first two years of a 10-year initiative, towards achieving its goal of becoming an evidence informed decision making organization.

The U.S. Navy's Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center (FNMOC) plays a significant role in the National capability for operational weather and ocean prediction through its operation of sophisticated global and regional meteorological and oceanographic models, extending from the top of the atmosphere to the bottom of the ocean. FNMOC uniquely satisfies the military's requirement for a global operational weather prediction capability based on software certified to DoD Information Assurance standards and operated in a secure classified computer environment protected from outside intrusion by DoD certified firewalls. FNMOC operates around-the-clock, 365 days per year and distributes products to military and civilian users around the world, both ashore and afloat, through a variety of means. FNMOC's customers include all branches of the Department of Defense, other government organizations such as the National Weather Service, private companies, a number of colleges and universities, and the general public. FNMOC employs three primary models, the Navy Operational Global Atmospheric Prediction System (NOGAPS), the Coupled Ocean/Atmosphere Mesoscale Prediction System (COAMPS), and the WaveWatch III model (WW3), along with a number of specialized models and related applications. NOGAPS is a global weather model, driving nearly all other FNMOC models and applications in some fashion. COAMPS is a high- resolution regional model that has proved to be particularly valuable for forecasting weather and ocean conditions in highly complex coastal areas. WW3 is a state-of-the-art ocean wave model that is employed both globally and regionally in support of a wide variety of naval operations. Other models support and supplement the main models with predictions of ocean thermal structure, ocean currents, sea-ice characteristics, and other data. Fleet Numerical operates at the leading edge of science and technology, and benefits greatly from collocation with its supporting

One strategy for reducing petroleum imports is to use electric cars in place of conventional vehicles. This paper examines obstacles which electric cars are likely to encounter in attempting to penetrate a key segment of the passenger car market, namely, the fleet market. A fleet is here defined as a group of cars operated by a corporation or a government agency. The primary data source is a questionnaire that was distributed to fleet operators by the Bobit Publishing Company in the summer of 1977. Six sectors of the fleet market were sampled: police, state and local government, utilities, taxi, rental, and business. The questionnaire was specifically designed to uncover factors limiting market penetration of unconventional vehicles, although no attempt was made to determine price elasticities. Emphasis is on vehicle attributes that are readily quantifiable and relatively projectable, including seating capacity, range, battery recharging characteristics, availability of power options, and ability to use interstate highways.

Full Text Available With more stringent requirements for efficient utilization of energy resources within the transport industry a need for implementation of sustainable development principles has appeared. Such action will be one of competitive advantages in the future. This is especially confirmed within the road transport sector. A methodology implemented in public procurement procedures for fleet renewal regarding the calculation of road vehicles’ operational lifecycle costs has been analyzed in detail in this paper. Afore mentioned calculation comprises the costs for: vehicle ownership, energy, carbon dioxide and pollutants emissions. Implementation of this methodology allows making the choice of energy efficient vehicles and vehicles with notable positive environmental effects. The objective of the research is to assess the influence of specific parameters of vehicle operational lifecycle costs, especially energy costs and estimated vehicle energy consumption, on vehicle choice in the procurement procedure. The case of urban bus fleet in Serbia was analyzed. Their operational lifecycle costs were calculated and differently powered vehicles were assessed. Energy consumption input values were defined. It was proved that defined fleet renewal scenarios could influence unquestionable decrease in energy consumption.

This project focused on two interrelated areas in equipment replacement modeling for fleets. The first area was research-oriented and addressed a fundamental assumption in engineering economic replacement modeling that all assets providing a similar ...

Fleet repositioning problems pose a high financial bur- den on shipping firms, but have received little attention in the literature, despite their high importance to the shipping industry. Fleet repositioning problems are characterized by chains of interacting activities, but state-of-the-art pla......Fleet repositioning problems pose a high financial bur- den on shipping firms, but have received little attention in the literature, despite their high importance to the shipping industry. Fleet repositioning problems are characterized by chains of interacting activities, but state......-of-the-art planning and scheduling techniques do not offer cost models that are rich enough to represent essential objectives of these problems. To this end, we introduce a novel framework called Temporal Optimization Planning (TOP). TOP uses partial order planning to build optimization models associated...

In October 1998, the National Library of Medicine (NLM) launched a pilot project to learn about the role of public libraries in providing health information to the public and to generate information that would assist NLM and the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM) in learning how best to work with public libraries in the future. Three regional medical libraries (RMLs), eight resource libraries, and forty-one public libraries or library systems from nine states and the District of Columbia were selected for participation. The pilot project included an evaluation component that was carried out in parallel with project implementation. The evaluation ran through September 1999. The results of the evaluation indicated that participating public librarians were enthusiastic about the training and information materials provided as part of the project and that many public libraries used the materials and conducted their own outreach to local communities and groups. Most libraries applied the modest funds to purchase additional Internet-accessible computers and/or upgrade their health-reference materials. However, few of the participating public libraries had health information centers (although health information was perceived as a top-ten or top-five topic of interest to patrons). Also, the project generated only minimal usage of NLM's consumer health database, known as MEDLINEplus, from the premises of the monitored libraries (patron usage from home or office locations was not tracked). The evaluation results suggested a balanced follow-up by NLM and the NN/LM, with a few carefully selected national activities, complemented by a package of targeted activities that, as of January 2000, are being planned, developed, or implemented. The results also highlighted the importance of building an evaluation component into projects like this one from the outset, to assure that objectives were met and that evaluative information was available on a timely basis, as was

available to maintain the readiness of the fleet. The reduction in readiness spending coupled with continuing demands from COCOMs for assets eroded... coupled with continuing demands from COCOMs for assets eroded the number of ships in ready‑to‑deploy status. CBO’s estimate of $20.2 billion per...less-expensive aircraft carriers, and additional SSNs. Our intent in designing this fleet is to use the money saved in buying less-expensive

CleanFleet, formally known as the South Coast Alternative Fuels Demonstration, was a comprehensive demonstration of alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) in daily commercial service. Between April 1992 and September 1994, five alternative fuels were tested in 84 panel vans: compressed natural gas (CNG), propane gas, methanol as M-85, California Phase 2 reformulated gasoline (RFG), and electricity. The AFVs were used in normal FedEx package delivery service in the Los Angeles basin alongside 27 {open_quotes}control{close_quotes} vans operating on regular gasoline. The liquid and gaseous fuel vans were model year 1992 vans from Ford, Chevrolet, and Dodge. The two electric vehicles (EVs) were on loan to FedEx from Southern California Edison. The AFVs represented a snapshot in time of 1992 technologies that (1) could be used reliably in daily FedEx operations and (2) were supported by the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). A typical van is shown in Figure 2. The objective of the project was to demonstrate and document the operational, emissions, and economic status of alternative fuel, commercial fleet delivery vans in the early 1990s for meeting air quality regulations in the mid to late 1990s. During the two-year demonstration, CleanFleet`s 111 vehicles travelled more than three million miles and provided comprehensive data on three major topics: fleet operations, emissions, and fleet economics. Fleet operations were examined in detail to uncover and resolve problems with the use of the fuels and vehicles in daily delivery service. Exhaust and evaporative emissions were measured on a subset of vans as they accumulated mileage. The California Air Resources Board (ARB) measured emissions to document the environmental benefits of these AFVs. At the same time, CleanFleet experience was used to estimate the costs to a fleet operator using AFVs to achieve the environmental benefits of reduced emissions.

... Relevant Information From Public or Private Entities With an Interest in Biovigilance; Extension AGENCY... and obtain relevant information regarding the possible development of a public-private partnership... Identify and Obtain Relevant Information from Public or Private Entities with an Interest in Biovigilance...

This circular has been prepared to provide information on the shipment of irradiated reactor fuel (spent fuel) subject to regulation by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and to meet the requirements of Public Law 96--295. The report provides a brief description of NRC authority for certain aspects of transporting spent fuel. It provides descriptive statistics on spent fuel shipments regulated by the NRC from 1979 to 1992. It also lists detailed highway and railway segments used within each state from October 1, 1987 through December 31, 1992

In April 26, 1999, 13 years will pass since the Chernobyl accident. It is the largest radiation catastrophe in its scale and prolonged consequences for the Republic of Belarus. Nearly 70% of radioactive materials released into the atmosphere as a result of the reactor accident deposited at the territory of Belarus. The Chernobyl catastrophe ad the post-Chernobyl processes led a large break of in lifestyle, values, orientations and everyday behaviour of the people on the contaminated territories. All these destructive changes are deflected as an anxious state due to the fear for children health status. As the time goes on, anxiety is not decreasing, but rather increasing. Residents of the contaminated regions are characterised by a high level of psychological stress which is related with two factors: the general socio-economic tension in the Republic of Belarus and presence of radioactive contamination of Chernobyl origin. Both factors do interact between one another. Thus, psychological consequences of the accident are connected not only with real contamination of the environment but also with the actions of the decisions makers, information of the mass media. This permits considering the stress of the population after the accident at the Chernobyl NPP as an 'informational' stress. The information stress calls for adequate activities aimed at reducing adverse consequences of its impact on health of the public. In so doing, one of the leading tasks of information rehabilitation of the people affected by the Chernobyl disaster is a problem of their realizing the fact it is possible to live in the affected territories. It is of utmost importance to help man correctly evaluate a level of real and imaginary threats which life after Chernobyl is fraught with, to give him/her an opportunity to thoughtfully opt for his/her line of behavior, prevent an individual from developing in such a direction that could result in a real threat to physical health. To achieve this goal

This study describes findings from an assessment conducted to identify perceived knowledge gaps, information needs, and research priorities among state, territorial, and local public health preparedness directors and coordinators related to public health emergency preparedness and response (PHPR). The goal of the study was to gather information that would be useful for ensuring that future funding for research and evaluation targets areas most critical for advancing public health practice. We implemented a mixed-methods approach to identify and prioritize PHPR research questions. A web survey was sent to all state, city, and territorial health agencies funded through the Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) Cooperative Agreement program and a sample of local health departments (LHDs). Three focus groups of state and local practitioners and subject matter experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were subsequently conducted, followed by 3 meetings of an expert panel of PHPR practitioners and CDC experts to prioritize and refine the research questions. We identified a final list of 44 research questions that were deemed by study participants as priority topics where future research can inform PHPR programs and practice. We identified differences in perceived research priorities between PHEP awardees and LHD survey respondents; the number of research questions rated as important was greater among LHDs than among PHEP awardees (75%, n=33, compared to 24%, n=15). The research questions identified provide insight into public health practitioners' perceived knowledge gaps and the types of information that would be most useful for informing and advancing PHPR practice. The study also points to a higher level of information need among LHDs than among PHEP awardees. These findings are important for CDC and the PHPR research community to ensure that future research studies are responsive to practitioners' needs and provide the information

This circular has been prepared to provide information on the shipment of irradiated reactor fuel (spent fuel) subject to regulation by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). It provides a brief description of spent fuel shipment safety and safeguards requirements of general interest, a summary of data for 1979--1989 highway and railway shipments, and a listing, by State, of recent highway and railway shipment routes. The enclosed route information reflects specific NRC approvals that have been granted in response to requests for shipments of spent fuel. This publication does not constitute authority for carriers or other persons to use the routes described to ship spent fuel, other categories of nuclear waste, or other materials. 11 figs., 3 tabs

The circular has been prepared to provide information on the shipment of irradiated reactor fuel (spent fuel) subject to regulation by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). It provides a brief description of spent fuel shipment safety and safeguards requirements of general interest, a summary of data for 1979--1991 highway and railway shipments, and a listing, by State, of recent highway and railway shipment routes. The enclosed route information reflects specific NRC approvals that have been granted in response to requests for shipments of spent fuel. This publication does not constitute authority for carriers or other persons to use the routes described to ship spent fuel, other categories of nuclear waste, or other materials

Monitoring with implicated punishment is common in human societies to avert freeriding on common goods. But is it effective in promoting public cooperation? We show that the introduction of monitoring and implicated punishment is indeed effective, as it transforms the public goods game to a coordination game, thus rendering cooperation viable in infinite and finite well-mixed populations. We also show that the addition of within-group enforcement further promotes the evolution of public cooperation. However, although the group size in this context has nonlinear effects on collective action, an intermediate group size is least conductive to cooperative behaviour. This contradicts recent field observations, where an intermediate group size was declared optimal with the conjecture that group-size effects and within-group enforcement are responsible. Our theoretical research thus clarifies key aspects of monitoring with implicated punishment in human societies, and additionally, it reveals fundamental group-size effects that facilitate prosocial collective action.

... 42 Public Health 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Publication of the Library and information about the Library. 4.8 Section 4.8 Public Health PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES GENERAL PROVISIONS NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE § 4.8 Publication of the Library and information...

Full Text Available It can be argued that public organizations, in order to provide the public with sufficient services in the current, highly competitive and continuously evolving environment, require changes. The changes that become necessary are often related to the implementation of information systems (IS. Moreover, when organizations are faced with changes, a change management (CM process needs to be put in place. CM theories that are currently available to practitioners and academics are often contradictory; they mostly lack empirical evidence and are supported by unchallenged hypotheses concerning the nature of the contemporary CM. The aim of this paper is, therefore, to identify critical success factors (CFSs for CM in IS projects. In order to reach this aim an explanation of changes in public organizations and the nature of CM are presented. Following this, a framework of CFSs for CM in IS projects are identified based on the literature review. The paper also examines two IS projects and uses them to demonstrate CFSs influencing CM in IS projects in Polish pubic organizations. A discussion of the research findings is provided and the paper concludes with a presentation of the study’s contributions and limitations as well as the stream of future work.

In recent years, public interest regarding IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) safeguards effectiveness has partially shifted to detection of undeclared nuclear facilities. Nevertheless, important segments of the public remain vitally interested in whether international safeguards would be able to reliably and definitively detect diversion of bomb quantities of plutonium or highly enriched uranium from open-quotes bulk handlingclose quotes facilities. There now exists a sizable body of unclassified technical reports, based on experimental results over many years, written by various experts, describing actual capabilities and limitations of safeguards techniques and systems, which collectively lead to definitive evaluations of technical safeguards effectiveness. For a large-scale operation of spent fuel reprocessing, plutonium fuel fabrication, or gas centrifuge uranium enrichment, an undisputable conclusion is that international safeguards systems would be unable to reliably and definitively detect the diversion in a one-year period of a significant quantity of plutonium or enriched uranium; moreover, diversion of many significant quantities per year (from such an operation) would have negligible probability of definitive detection if conducted in accordance with particle diversion scenarios. To properly inform the public and government agencies, reports on technical effectiveness of international safeguards should incorporate these basic conclusions

Full Text Available Introduction. Proposes a systemic approach to Public Sector Information (PSI, defined as comprising entities in four categories - citizens, businesses, policymakers and administrations. This system also comprises four categories of information - on citizenship, economic and social development, policy and administration. Method. . A selective literature review was conducted to produce a convergence of perspectives from different fields, to provide the foundations for the stakeholder model. Analysis. The implications of the systemic approach to PSI, are: a a holistic and open view of the entities and elements involved; b clarification of the role of each of the stakeholder groups; c commitment of each group to the public sector information system, and hence co-responsibility for the system. The principle of co-production is applied to the PSI system, by building on lessons from development studies. Results. A model is developed where the different groups of stakeholders are seen as groups of people and organizations with distinctive characteristics, playing different roles, but not mutually exclusive regarding their participation in the different subsystems. Conclusion. Success in adopting the proposed model may depend on pre-existing characteristics and conditions of each socio-political context, including existing levels of social capital, as much as on the implementation of technology to improve public service delivery. However, it is possible to build synergistic relations relatively quickly, through an imaginative application of 'soft technologies', such as institution-building and organizational change.

The study of fishery dynamics considers national-level fleet evolution. It has, however, failed to consider the flows behind fleet evolution as well as the impact of the dynamics of owners of invested capital on fleet evolution. This paper establishes a general conceptual framework which identifies different vessel and owner flows behind fleet evolution and some relationships between these flows. This descriptive conceptual framework aims to change the current focus on drivers of fleet evolut...

At the 2005 IAEA general conference, several member states have asked the other members to engage in using the International Nuclear Event Scale (Ines) as a key harmonized element in publicinformation practices. Created in 1989 to communicate on nuclear events at nuclear installations, this scale was recently upgraded to include the radiological risk as well as defects in safety provisions for radioactive sources or the transport of radioactive material. Even if communication tools should not be used to compare regulatory performances or enforce regulatory provisions the awareness of the public on the radiation risk is a positive contributor to the improvement of radiation protection. The experience feed back from the trial period of use of the upgraded Ines scale (July 2004- June 2006) demonstrates that a same tool allows an homogenous communication on a wide range of events, from nuclear safety events in nuclear power plants to deterministic effects of radiation among industrial radiographers. The next step for the extension of the Ines scale will be focused on medical events. - A prerequisite to any attempt to rank events in a scale is to define what should be considered as an event. This is not obvious as far as medical events are considered. The French Nuclear Safety Authority is currently working on a list of criteria to be used by licensees to determine the categories of events to be notified to the regulatory Authority. It is intended to organize the widest possible consultation among all stakeholders. The European IRPA conference is a good opportunity to discuss this issue and a way forward finding an international consensus on publicinformation practices. (author)

At the 2005 IAEA general conference, several member states have asked the other members to engage in using the International Nuclear Event Scale (Ines) as a key harmonized element in publicinformation practices. Created in 1989 to communicate on nuclear events at nuclear installations, this scale was recently upgraded to include the radiological risk as well as defects in safety provisions for radioactive sources or the transport of radioactive material. Even if communication tools should not be used to compare regulatory performances or enforce regulatory provisions the awareness of the public on the radiation risk is a positive contributor to the improvement of radiation protection. The experience feed back from the trial period of use of the upgraded Ines scale (July 2004- June 2006) demonstrates that a same tool allows an homogenous communication on a wide range of events, from nuclear safety events in nuclear power plants to deterministic effects of radiation among industrial radiographers. The next step for the extension of the Ines scale will be focused on medical events. - A prerequisite to any attempt to rank events in a scale is to define what should be considered as an event. This is not obvious as far as medical events are considered. The French Nuclear Safety Authority is currently working on a list of criteria to be used by licensees to determine the categories of events to be notified to the regulatory Authority. It is intended to organize the widest possible consultation among all stakeholders. The European IRPA conference is a good opportunity to discuss this issue and a way forward finding an international consensus on publicinformation practices. (author)

The FAST application was designed to replace the paper and pen method of checking out and checking in GSA Vehicles at KSC. By innovating from a paper and pen based checkout system to a fully digital one, not only the resources wasted by printing the checkout forms have been reduced, but it also reduces significantly the time that users and fleet managers need to interact with the system as well as improving the record accuracy for each vehicle. The vehicle information is pulled from a centralized database server in the SPSDL. In an attempt to add a new feature to the FAST application, the author of this report (alongside the FAST developers) has been designing and developing the FAST Management Website. The GSA fleet managers had to rely on the FAST developers in order to add new vehicles, edit vehicles and previous transactions, or for generating vehicles reports. By providing an easy-to-use FAST Management Website portal, the GSA fleet managers are now able to easily move vehicles, edit records, and print reports.

This report summarizes a study of 15 automotive fleets that operate neighborhood electric vehicles(NEVs) in the United States. The information was obtained to help Field Operations Program personnel understand how NEVs are being used, how many miles they are being driven, and if they are being used to replace other types of fleet vehicles or as additions to fleets. (The Field Operations Program is a U.S. Department of Energy Program within the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Transportation Technologies). The NEVs contribution to petroleum avoidance and cleaner air can be estimated based on the miles driven and by assuming gasoline use and air emissions values for the vehicles being replaced. Gasoline and emissions data for a Honda Civic are used as the Civic has the best fuel use for a gasoline-powered vehicle and very clean emissions. Based on these conservation assumptions, the 348 NEVs are being driven a total of about 1.2 million miles per year. This equates to an average of 3,409 miles per NEV annually or 9 miles per day. It is estimated that 29,195 gallons of petroleum use is avoided annually by the 348 NEVs. This equates to 87 gallons of petroleum use avoided per NEV, per year. Using the 348 NEVs avoids the generation of at least 775 pounds of smog- forming emissions annually.

This report summarizes a study of 15 automotive fleets that operate neighborhood electric vehicles (NEVs) in the United States. The information was obtained to help Field Operations Program personnel understand how NEVs are being used, how many miles they are being driven, and if they are being used to replace other types of fleet vehicles or as additions to fleets. (The Field Operations Program is a U.S. Department of Energy Program within the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Transportation Technologies). The NEVs contribution to petroleum avoidance and cleaner air can be estimated based on the miles driven and by assuming gasoline use and air emissions values for the vehicles being replaced. Gasoline and emissions data for a Honda Civic are used as the Civic has the best fuel use for a gasoline-powered vehicle and very clean emissions. Based on these conservation assumptions, the 348 NEVs are being driven a total of about 1.2 million miles per year. This equates to an average of 3,409 miles per NEV annually or 9 miles per day. It is estimated that 29,195 gallons of petroleum use is avoided annually by the 348 NEVs. This equates to 87 gallons of petroleum use avoided per NEV, per year. Using the 348 NEVs avoids the generation of at least 775 pounds of smog-forming emissions annually.

Expressions of emotion are often brief, providing only fleeting images from which to base important social judgments. We sought to characterize the sensitivity and mechanisms of emotion detection and expression categorization when exposure to faces is very brief, and to determine whether these processes dissociate. Observers viewed 2 backward-masked facial expressions in quick succession, 1 neutral and the other emotional (happy, fearful, or angry), in a 2-interval forced-choice task. On each trial, observers attempted to detect the emotional expression (emotion detection) and to classify the expression (expression categorization). Above-chance emotion detection was possible with extremely brief exposures of 10 ms and was most accurate for happy expressions. We compared categorization among expressions using a d' analysis, and found that categorization was usually above chance for angry versus happy and fearful versus happy, but consistently poor for fearful versus angry expressions. Fearful versus angry categorization was poor even when only negative emotions (fearful, angry, or disgusted) were used, suggesting that this categorization is poor independent of decision context. Inverting faces impaired angry versus happy categorization, but not emotion detection, suggesting that information from facial features is used differently for emotion detection and expression categorizations. Emotion detection often occurred without expression categorization, and expression categorization sometimes occurred without emotion detection. These results are consistent with the notion that emotion detection and expression categorization involve separate mechanisms. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Expressions of emotion are often brief, providing only fleeting images from which to base important social judgments. We sought to characterize the sensitivity and mechanisms of emotion detection and expression categorization when exposure to faces is very brief, and to determine whether these processes dissociate. Observers viewed 2 backward-masked facial expressions in quick succession, 1 neutral and the other emotional (happy, fearful, or angry), in a 2-interval forced-choice task. On each trial, observers attempted to detect the emotional expression (emotion detection) and to classify the expression (expression categorization). Above-chance emotion detection was possible with extremely brief exposures of 10 ms and was most accurate for happy expressions. We compared categorization among expressions using a d′ analysis, and found that categorization was usually above chance for angry versus happy and fearful versus happy, but consistently poor for fearful versus angry expressions. Fearful versus angry categorization was poor even when only negative emotions (fearful, angry, or disgusted) were used, suggesting that this categorization is poor independent of decision context. Inverting faces impaired angry versus happy categorization, but not emotion detection, suggesting that information from facial features is used differently for emotion detection and expression categorizations. Emotion detection often occurred without expression categorization, and expression categorization sometimes occurred without emotion detection. These results are consistent with the notion that emotion detection and expression categorization involve separate mechanisms. PMID:22866885

Full Text Available Abstract Background In Ontario, local public health inspectors play an important frontline role in protecting the public from foodborne illness. This study was an in-depth exploration of public health inspectors' perceptions of the key food safety issues in public health, and their opinions and needs with regards to food safety information resources. Methods Four focus group discussions were conducted with public health inspectors from the Central West region of Ontario, Canada during June and July, 2008. A questioning route was used to standardize qualitative data collection. Audio recordings of sessions were transcribed verbatim and data-driven content analysis was performed. Results A total of 23 public health inspectors participated in four focus group discussions. Five themes emerged as key food safety issues: time-temperature abuse, inadequate handwashing, cross-contamination, the lack of food safety knowledge by food handlers and food premise operators, and the lack of food safety information and knowledge about specialty foods (i.e., foods from different cultures. In general, participants reported confidence with their current knowledge of food safety issues and foodborne pathogens. Participants highlighted the need for a central source for food safety information, access to up-to-date food safety information, resources in different languages, and additional food safety information on specialty foods. Conclusions The information gathered from these focus groups can provide a basis for the development of resources that will meet the specific needs of public health inspectors involved in protecting and promoting food safety.

Through summarize the status quo of public facilities design to older age groups in China and a variety of factors what influence on them, the essay, from different perspective, is designed to put forward basic principle to sustainable design of public facilities for the aged in the city, and thus further promote and popularize the necessity of sustainable design applications in the future design of public facilities for elderly people.

To reduce dependence on foreign sources of energy, address climate change, and improve environmental quality, the US government has established a goal of reducing petroleum fuel use in its federal agencies. To this end, the government requires its agencies to purchase alternative fuel vehicles, use alternative fuel, and adopt other strategies to reduce petroleum consumption. Compliance with these requirements, while important, creates challenges for federal fleet managers who oversee large, geographically dispersed fleets. In this study, a group of 25 experienced federal fleet managers participated in a pilot study using a structured methodology for developing strategies to comply with fleet requirements while using agency resources as efficiently as possible. Multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) methods were used to identify and quantify agency priorities in combination with a linear programming model to optimize the purchase of fleet vehicles. The method was successful in quantifying tradeoffs and decreasing the amount of time required to develop fleet management strategies. As such, it is recommended to federal agencies as a standard tool for the development of these strategies in the future. (author)

To reduce dependence on foreign sources of energy, address climate change, and improve environmental quality, the US government has established a goal of reducing petroleum fuel use in its federal agencies. To this end, the government requires its agencies to purchase alternative fuel vehicles, use alternative fuel, and adopt other strategies to reduce petroleum consumption. Compliance with these requirements, while important, creates challenges for federal fleet managers who oversee large, geographically dispersed fleets. In this study, a group of 25 experienced federal fleet managers participated in a pilot study using a structured methodology for developing strategies to comply with fleet requirements while using agency resources as efficiently as possible. Multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) methods were used to identify and quantify agency priorities in combination with a linear programming model to optimize the purchase of fleet vehicles. The method was successful in quantifying tradeoffs and decreasing the amount of time required to develop fleet management strategies. As such, it is recommended to federal agencies as a standard tool for the development of these strategies in the future. (author)

Groups can make better decisions than individuals when members cooperatively exchange and integrate their uniquely held information and insights. However, under conformity pressures group members are biased towards exchanging commonly known information, and away from exchanging unique information,

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Some comments to the present state concerning delayed neutron data preparation is given and preliminary analysis of the new 8-group delayed data (relative abundances) is presented. Comparisons of the 8-group to 6-group set is given for rod drop experiment (Unit 1, Cycle 14, NPP Dukovany).(Author)

Incident of Chernobyl nuclear power plant No. 4 reactor occurred on April 26th, 1986 was the worst one of the developmental history in the world, which brought a big effect in region of not only operation management and safety culture but also social system called the most fundamental nation. But, the Chernobyl nuclear plant continues to generate total electric power of 2 million kW at Nos. 1 and 3 reactors in Ukraine still now. The reason why it is repeated to put off their closing at each time is that the nuclear power is non-alternative energy source for Ukraine facing a serious energy short. In Moscow Atomic Energy Samit to which heads of advanced 7 countries, Russia, and EU joined on April, 1996, the Chernobyl power plants was confirmed to be closed till 2000. The most serious fact in effects given to many people by the Chernobyl accident was diffusion of distrust of 'None can be reliable in the world'. The Chernobyl accident gave distrust to anyone who admitted the nuclear power plant as well as TMI and Monju accidents did. This teaching is, after all, a problem of information opening to the public. It is essential to hide no information, and to open every information as soon as possible. The secretism gives people suspicion and may give people a motive power to bury future technology called atomic energy. (G.K.)

Full Text Available Today’s public accounting firms face a number of challenges in relation to their most valuable resource and primary revenue generator, human capital. Expanding regulations, technology advances, increased competition and high turnover rates are just a few of the issues confronting public accounting leaders in today’s complex business environment. In recent years, some public accounting firms have attempted to combat low retention and high burnout rates with traditional one-to-one mentoring programs, with varying degrees of success. Many firms have found that they lack the resources necessary to successfully implement and maintain such programs. In other industries, organizations have used a group mentoring approach in attempt to remove potential barriers to mentoring success. Although the research regarding group mentoring shows promise for positive organizational outcomes, no cases could be found in the literature regarding its usage in a public accounting firm. Because of the unique challenges associated with public accounting firms, this paper attempts to answer two questions: (1Does group mentoring provide a viable alternative to traditional mentoring in a public accounting firm? (2 If so, what general model might be used for implementing such a program? In answering these questions, a review of the group mentoring literature is provided, along with a suggested model for the implementation of group mentoring in a public accounting firm.

accepted by all participants, developed and passed on to future generations. Due to the variety of applications of radioactivity and ionizing radiation, the actors involved in radiation protection culture include professionals and non-professional members of society: politicians, entrepreneurs, NGOs, associations and societies, groups and parties, professional organizations, patients, media, schools and universities and the general public, as well. The main actors in disseminating the culture of radiation protection are professionals in this field and mass media. In effecting their profession they must act as communicators of scientific information, improving the public perception about the risks and benefits of radiation and radioactivity. The Romanian Society of Radiation Protection, the professional organization of practitioners in this area has among its main objectives to promote a culture of radiation protection and improvement of public perception through communication and involvement. Despite substantial efforts to disseminate information on radiation protection, sociological research shows that the average Romanian citizen has no adequate knowledge to make its own decisions. In this direction, radiation protection professionals should address effective communication methods such as 'exchange of information and opinions' and the involvement of interested groups in decision making. Mass media plays an important role in communicating with the public. The recent accident in Japan had a massive coverage in all media. On the other hand, the media must obtain the economic efficiency of published or broadcast news based on audience, according to the principle 'a bad news story is a profitable'. In addition journalists are poorly informed about the topics of radiation protection and have limited editorial space available to educate the public. (authors)

This Public Participation Plan outlines activities being planned to: (1) brief the public on results of the remedial investigation and feasibility study, (2) discuss the proposed plan for remediation of Operable Unit 7-13/14 with the public, and (3) encourage public participation in the decision-making process. Operable Unit 7-13/14 is the Comprehensive Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study for Waste Area Group 7. Analysis focuses on the Subsurface Disposal Area (SDA) within the Radioactive Waste Management Complex at the Idaho National Laboratory (Site). This plan, a supplement to the Idaho National Laboratory Community Relations Plan (DOE-ID 2004), will be updated as necessary. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will participate in the public involvement activities outlined in this plan. Collectively, DOE, DEQ, and EPA are referred to as the Agencies. Because history has shown that implementing the minimum required public involvement activities is not sufficient for high-visibility cleanup projects, this plan outlines additional opportunities the Agencies are providing to ensure that the public's information needs are met and that the Agencies can use the public's input for decisions regarding remediation activities

Two experiments investigated the tendency of groups with members under high (vs. low) need for cognitive closure to develop an autocratic leadership structure in which some members dominate the discussion, constitute the "hubs" of communication, and influence the group more than other members. The first experiment found that high (vs. low) need for closure groups, as assessed via dispositional measure of the need for closure, manifested greater asymmetry of conversational floor control, such that members with autocratic interactional style were more conversationally dominant and influential than less autocratic members. The second experiment manipulated the need for closure via time pressure and utilized a social network analysis. Consistent with expectation, groups under time pressure (vs. no pressure) showed a greater asymmetry of participation, of centrality, and of prestige among the group members, such that the more focal members were perceived to exert the greater influence over the groups' decisions.

The Centre for BioSystems Genomics (CBSG) is a Dutch public-private partnership in plant genomics active in potato and tomato research and exploitation. Its Societal Interface Group (SIG) has been developed to inform its communication strategy and governance practice. This new instrument identifies and discusses early signals from society by bringing together people from different societal backgrounds with members of CBSG management. This interactive learning process facilitates the inclusion of public concerns and needs in scientific developments in the field of plant genomics, and simultaneously enables genomics scientists to search for more societal aims, meanings, and starting points for their research agenda. Analysis of the SIG sessions revealed that the input of public expertise is not threatening or irrational, but provides the opportunity to harness the creative potential of future users highly relevant for the development of societal practices in which plant genomics plays a role.

Full Text Available With regard to changes in the environment of tertiary education and tertiary educational systems, universities are now unlikely to succeed as ‘separated closed’ institutions that are unresponsive to their environment and stakeholders. Stakeholder analysis is considered as an important part of university management and marketing and universities have to take care of key stakeholder groups and build long term relationships with them. This paper focuses on the stakeholder analysis and adopts the stake-holder theory and analysis for the needs of the Czech market of tertiary education. This paper analyses results of the author’s online questionnaire that provided the input for data analysis deploying basic descriptive analysis and first steps of stakeholder analysis – identification, categorization and prioritization. Results of author’s research show that there are only slight differences between public and private universities and their perspective concerning generic stakeholder groups of universities. However the research revealed two controversial stakeholder groups – donors and competitors. In comparison with other stakeholder groups perception of these two stakeholder groups by public and private universities is very different. Stakeholder groups of public and private universities were categorized into four basic groups - primary internal stakeholder groups, primary external stakeholder groups, secondary internal stakeholder groups, and secondary external stakeholder groups. Primary internal and external stakeholder groups which are crucial for survival of universities are the most important stakeholder groups for universities. The author identified ten most important stakeholder groups for public and private universities separately, based on assigned priorities that will be used for further research.

In this ethnographic study, I explored two discussion groups and discovered Third Space elements such as cultural hybridity, counterscript, and sharing of experiences and resources contributed to a safe learning environment existing at the boundaries between participant personal and professional spaces. The groups operated under the auspices of a…

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The communication problem of the nuclear industry is the same as any other nonmonopoly provider of products or services, i.e., to show the public that nuclear electricity is superior even though nuclear electricity itself is indistinguishable from any other electricity. The public wants to know how nuclear compares with other sources of electricity in almost any other way except detailed information on the ''nuts and bolts'' of how electricity is made. They want to learn first, that there is an adequate supply of nuclear fuel and that they will not have to degrade their lifestyle unless they choose to do so; second, that they are safe and that meaningful consideration has been given to public safety for nuclear energy generation, including waste disposal; third, that this method is accepted by reputable scientists; fourth, that their use of this method is decreasing world societal problems, causes of war, and causes of pollution; and fifth, that this method increases their ability to accomplish the things that one's potential allows

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This circular has been prepared in response to numerous requests for information regarding routes for the shipment of irradiated reactor (spent) fuel subject to regulation by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The NRC staff approves such routes prior to their use, in accordance with the regulatory provisions of 10 CFR Part 73.37. The objective of the safeguards regulations contained in 10 CFR Part 73.37 is to provide protection against radioactive dispersal caused by malevolent acts by persons. The design and construction of the casks used to ship the spent fuel provide adequate radiological protection of the public health and safety against accidents. Therfore, transporting appropriately packaged spent fuel over existing rail systems and via any highway system is radiologically safe without specific NRC approval of the route. However, to assure adequate planning for protection against actual or attempted acts of radiological sabotage, the NRC requires advance route approval. This approval is given on a shipment-by-shipment or series basis, it is not general approval of the route for subsequent spent fuel shipments. Spent fuel shipment routes, primarily for road transportation, but also including three rail routes, are indicated on reproductions of road maps. Also included are the amounts of material shipped during the approximate 8-year period that safeguards regulations have been effective. This information is current as of September 30, 1987

Full Text Available In association with the development of new microbial tests for source water quality (SWQ, focus groups with members of the public were conducted to gain insight into their perceptions of SWQ, behaviours and contaminants they think pose the greatest threat to its quality, and what/how they want to know about SWQ. Discussions revealed a low concern about SWQ in general, and in particular about microbial contamination. Participants identified behaviours that threaten SWQ, barriers to changing behaviour and suggestions for inducing change. A strong desire was expressed for water quality information to be interpreted and communicated in terms of how SWQ may impact human health and how their actions should be altered in response to test results. The information can be used to inform communication strategies and possibly impact policies associated with water quality testing and implementation of new tests. More broadly, awareness of the public's understanding and beliefs about source water can be used in working with the public to adopt water-friendly behaviours, influence the content and methods of communicating with the public about water issues and water quality, and could contribute to the direction of future research and investment into water technologies to align with the public's priorities.

Research on shared information bias has shown that group members involved in a decision-making task tend to undervalue information that a single member shares with the group, especially when that information conflicts with their prior conclusions. The group activity in this article is intended to heighten awareness of this shared information bias…

Public and self-stigmas have been implicated as factors in the underutilization of individual counseling. However, group counseling is also underutilized, and yet scholars know very little about the role of different types of stigma on attitudes toward seeking group counseling. Therefore, the current study examined the relationships between public…

Full Text Available Gaussian elimination is used in special linear groups to solve the word problem. In this paper, we extend Gaussian elimination to split unitary groups. These algorithms have an application in building a public-key cryptosystem, we demonstrate that.

For over 3 years, 6 faculty members and 1 graduate student have gathered as a working group applying an interdisciplinary focus to public engagement projects involving immigrant families in the rural Midwest. One dimension of the group's effort has been to involve faculty, staff, and students from many disciplines in its examination of pertinent…

From beverage distributors to shipping companies and federal agencies, industry leaders turn to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to help green their fleet operations. Cost, efficiency, and reliability are top priorities for fleets, and NREL partners know the lab’s portfolio of tools can pinpoint fuel efficiency and emissions-reduction strategies that also support operational the bottom line. NREL is one of the nation’s foremost leaders in medium- and heavy-duty vehicle research and development (R&D) and the go-to source for credible, validated transportation data. NREL developers have drawn on this expertise to create tools grounded in the real-world experiences of commercial and government fleets. Operators can use this comprehensive set of technology- and fuel-neutral tools to explore and analyze equipment and practices, energy-saving strategies, and other operational variables to ensure meaningful performance, financial, and environmental benefits.

The availability of condition monitoring data for large fleets of similar equipment motivates the development of data-driven prognostic approaches that capitalize on the information contained in such data to estimate equipment Remaining Useful Life (RUL). A main difficulty is that the fleet of equipment typically experiences different operating conditions, which influence both the condition monitoring data and the degradation processes that physically determine the RUL. We propose an approach for RUL estimation from heterogeneous fleet data based on three phases: firstly, the degradation levels (states) of an homogeneous discrete-time finite-state semi-markov model are identified by resorting to an unsupervised ensemble clustering approach. Then, the parameters of the discrete Weibull distributions describing the transitions among the states and their uncertainties are inferred by resorting to the Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) method and to the Fisher Information Matrix (FIM), respectively. Finally, the inferred degradation model is used to estimate the RUL of fleet equipment by direct Monte Carlo (MC) simulation. The proposed approach is applied to two case studies regarding heterogeneous fleets of aluminium electrolytic capacitors and turbofan engines. Results show the effectiveness of the proposed approach in predicting the RUL and its superiority compared to a fuzzy similarity-based approach of literature. - Highlights: • The prediction of the remaining useful life for heterogeneous fleets is addressed. • A data-driven prognostics approach based on a Markov model is proposed. • The proposed approach is applied to two different heterogeneous fleets. • The results are compared with those obtained by a fuzzy similarity-based approach.

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The Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) performed several studies concerning the effects of motor failures on US power production. Problems with aging and the lack of preventative maintenance were noted as major contributors to this production loss. Westinghouse has developed, and successfully utilized, a computer program to assist plants in the decision making process for maximizing the operational availability of their motor fleet. The program considers motors of a fleet as a single, critical to production asset, and aids the operator in decisions regarding the following: 1.) Purchase of spares. 2.) Rewind and refurbishment prioritization. 3.) Long-term budget forecasting. (author)

Many people believe that ordinary citizens should influence scientific and technological developments, but the American public is routinely uninformed about these issues. As a solution, some scholars advocate creating informedpublic opinions by encouraging citizens to deliberate about the issues. Although this idea is currently widely applauded in the science and technology literature, deliberative outcomes are infrequently measured and the practice of deliberation is routinely criticized in other disciplines. This research contributes to our understanding of the effectiveness of citizen deliberation as a method for increasing public engagement with science. I report data measuring results of deliberation in a national citizens’ technology forum (NCTF) about nanotechnologies for human enhancement. The NCTF was a month-long process involving six groups of 9–15 ordinary citizens who deliberated in different locations across the United States with the goal of reaching consensus about policy recommendations within their groups. I find that structured deliberation generated informed opinions, sometimes meaningful shifts in preferences, and increased trust and internal efficacy among the participants. Nevertheless, the NCTF has important shortcomings, and it is not obvious that consensus conferences should be preferred over other mechanisms for creating informed opinions. Future research is needed to corroborate the findings of this study and to systematically compare outcomes of structured citizen deliberation to other less resource intensive forms of engagement.

Full Text Available Abstract Background The public healthcare sector in developing countries faces many challenges including weak healthcare systems and under-resourced facilities that deliver poor outcomes relative to total healthcare expenditure. Global references demonstrate that information technology has the ability to assist in this regard through the automation of processes, thus reducing the inefficiencies of manually driven processes and lowering transaction costs. This study examines the impact of hospital information systems implementation on service delivery, user adoption and organisational culture within two hospital settings in South Africa. Methods Ninety-four interviews with doctors, nurses and hospital administrators were conducted in two public sector tertiary healthcare facilities (in two provinces to record end-user perceptions. Structured questionnaires were used to conduct the interviews with both qualitative and quantitative information. Results Noteworthy differences were observed among the three sample groups of doctors, nurses and administrators as well as between our two hospital groups. The impact of automation in terms of cost and strategic value in public sector hospitals is shown to have yielded positive outcomes with regard to patient experience, hospital staff workflow enhancements, and overall morale in the workplace. Conclusion The research provides insight into the reasons for investing in system automation, the associated outcomes, and organisational factors that impact the successful adoption of IT systems. In addition, it finds that sustainable success in these initiatives is as much a function of the technology as it is of the change management function that must accompany the system implementation.

A Systems Analysis Group has existed at Sandia National Laboratories since at least the mid-1950s. Much of the groups work output (reports, briefing documents, and other materials) has been retained, along with large numbers of related documents. Over time the collection has grown to hundreds of thousands of unstructured documents in many formats contained in one or more of several different shared drives or SharePoint sites, with perhaps five percent of the collection still existing in print format. This presents a challenge. How can the group effectively find, manage, and build on information contained somewhere within such a large set of unstructured documents? In response, a project was initiated to identify tools that would be able to meet this challenge. This report documents the results found and recommendations made as of August 2013.

As part of its programme to promote the exchange of information relating to nuclear science and technology, the International Atomic Energy Agency convened in Bangkok, Thailand, from 6-8 July 1970, an informal meeting to discuss the topic of Activation Analysis. The meeting was attended by participants drawn from the following countries: Australia, Burma, Ceylon, Republic of China, India, Indonesia, Prance, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, United States of America and Vietnam. The proceedings consist of the contributions presented at the meeting with minor editorial changes

As part of its programme to promote the exchange of information relating to nuclear science and technology, the International Atomic Energy Agency convened in Bangkok, Thailand, from 6-8 July 1970, an informal meeting to discuss the topic of Activation Analysis. The meeting was attended by participants drawn from the following countries: Australia, Burma, Ceylon, Republic of China, India, Indonesia, Prance, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, United States of America and Vietnam. The proceedings consist of the contributions presented at the meeting with minor editorial changes.

Should public undertakings be covered by the PSI Directive? The definitions of public sector bodies and bodies governed by public law, to which the PSI Directive applies, are currently taken from the public procurement Directives and public undertakings are not covered by these definitions. Should

Journal citation measures, if properly used, provide important information on the author’s publication strategy. In this explorative study, which is part of a larger project, we attempt to shed light on to what extent publication strategies are adequately reflected by the impact generated in the respective scientific community in the context of academic research assessment at micro level.In this paper we present three cases based on the research output of researchers active in three different fields: chemistry, medicine and economics. In each individual case, the lists of journals, in which the author in question has published along with the journals in the reference lists and those where the citing papers have been published, are analysed according to two aspects, the congruence of the three resulting lists and the overlap by journal quartiles based on field-normalised impact. Similarity measures are then introduced at both levels.The results reveal important aspects of the authors’ publication strategy and their position in the information flow enabling the identification of different scenarios, which are discussed in detail in order to be correctly applied for bibliometric individual assessment. (Author)

This publication first present some key data regarding photovoltaic energy production in France (connected and to be connected), and then presents the photovoltaic fleet (geographical distribution, installed power in metropolitan France, Corsica and ultramarine territories). It gives an overview of the evolution of connection request and queuing management in France and at the regional level

The concept of preventive maintenance is very important in the effective management and deployment of : vehicle fleets. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) operates a large fleet of on-road and offroad : equipment. Newer engines and vehicl...

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A proper lay-up can only be achieved by plant specific lay-up procedures. The layup control practices are necessary to prevent corrosion damage during shutdown and are an important part of the life time extension of a nuclear power plant. EDF operational experience in this area confirms that damage to plant equipment from improper layup procedures is a cause of reduced plant reliability and availability and can increase the corrosion products ingress into the SG during start-up. The plant preservation strategy applied across the EDF fleet is based on the following principles: Anticipated time frame of the required layup: short-term outages can become long-term outages, and can necessitate the use of unplanned preservation techniques. Dry layup for a long-term outage of the condensate/feedwater system: condenser vacuum assisted draining at high temperature, estimation of air requirements (flow rate, humidity...) to guarantee the optimum conditions inside the system. Wet lay up for a short-term outage of the condensate/feedwater system: system filled with operating medium, avoiding air ingress into the system, injection of chemical agents if necessary. Dry lay-up or wet lay up for the steam generators depending on maintenance work or radiation protection needed. This article presents the EDF layup program and the improvements in layup practices. It provides information on the layup procedures, best practices and recommendations, operating experience, considerations for different durations of outages; the implementation of a preservation working group, the selection of the systems that will be included in the lay-up program. Finally, future developments will be presented, such as the development of a 'convective model' to determine air requirements (humidity, flow rate...) and the drying rate to dry a heat exchanger. (author)

Ankara : Department of Interior Architecture and Environmental Design and Institute of Economics and Social Sciences, Bilkent Univ., 1999. Thesis (Master's) -- Bilkent University, 1999. Includes bibliographical references. In this study, public leisure spaces are examined considering the social and spatial behavior of occupant groups. After an introduction to the concepts of leisure, its types, its relations with public life and cultural concepts, the study discusses leisure ...

Full Text Available Abstract Background Food allergy prevalence is increasing in US children. Presently, the primary means of preventing potentially fatal reactions are avoidance of allergens, prompt recognition of food allergy reactions, and knowledge about food allergy reaction treatments. Focus groups were held as a preliminary step in the development of validated survey instruments to assess food allergy knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs of parents, physicians, and the general public. Methods Eight focus groups were conducted between January and July of 2006 in the Chicago area with parents of children with food allergy (3 groups, physicians (3 groups, and the general public (2 groups. A constant comparative method was used to identify the emerging themes which were then grouped into key domains of food allergy knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs. Results Parents of children with food allergy had solid fundamental knowledge but had concerns about primary care physicians' knowledge of food allergy, diagnostic approaches, and treatment practices. The considerable impact of children's food allergies on familial quality of life was articulated. Physicians had good basic knowledge of food allergy but differed in their approach to diagnosis and advice about starting solids and breastfeeding. The general public had wide variation in knowledge about food allergy with many misconceptions of key concepts related to prevalence, definition, and triggers of food allergy. Conclusion Appreciable food allergy knowledge gaps exist, especially among physicians and the general public. The quality of life for children with food allergy and their families is significantly affected.

State Office for Nuclear Safety in co-operation with the Ministry of Science, Education and Sport, Nuclear Power Plant Krsko (in Slovenia) and Agency for Education during the years 2002 till now realized the project of preparing the calendar for families living in the circle 25 km from the Nuclear Power Plant Krsko (Slovenia) and in the circle of 100 km from Nuclear Power Plant Paks (Hungary). The calendars are containing primary school pupils' paintings about energy, environment, nuclear technology and additional information about preparedness in the Republic of Croatia in the case of nuclear accident and recommendation for acting. Collecting of paintings is carried out each year between pupils from second to eight grades in the schools near Nuclear Power Plant Krsko and Nuclear Power Plant Paks. Expert commission chose twelve best paintings for the following year. This kind of project is only one way of public relations and awareness which helps in expanding knowledge about successful living close to nuclear and other energy technologies. In this poster presentation more about this project will be presented.(author)

State Office for Nuclear Safety in co-operation with the Ministry of Science, Education and Sport, Nuclear Power Plant Krsko (in Slovenia) and Agency for Education during the years 2002 till now realized the project of preparing the calendar for families living in the circle 25 km from the Nuclear Power Plant Krsko (Slovenia) and in the circle of 100 km from Nuclear Power Plant Paks (Hungary). The calendars are containing primary school pupils' paintings about energy, environment, nuclear technology and additional information about preparedness in the Republic of Croatia in the case of nuclear accident and recommendation for acting. Collecting of paintings is carried out each year between pupils from second to eight grades in the schools near Nuclear Power Plant Krsko and Nuclear Power Plant Paks. Expert commission chose twelve best paintings for the following year. This kind of project is only one way of public relations and awareness which helps in expanding knowledge about successful living close to nuclear and other energy technologies. In this poster presentation more about this project will be presented.(author)

State Office for Nuclear Safety in co-operation with the Ministry of Science, Education and Sport, Nuclear Power Plant Krsko (in Slovenia) and Agency for Education during the years 2002 till now realized the project of preparing the calendar for families living in the circle 25 km from the Nuclear Power Plant Krsko (Slovenia) and in the circle of 100 km from Nuclear Power Plant Paks (Hungary). The calendars are containing primary school pupils' paintings about energy, environment, nuclear technology and additional information about preparedness in the Republic of Croatia in the case of nuclear accident and recommendation for acting. Collecting of paintings is carried out each year between pupils from second to eight grades in the schools near Nuclear Power Plant Krsko and Nuclear Power Plant Paks. Expert commission chose twelve best paintings for the following year. This kind of project is only one way of public relations and awareness which helps in expanding knowledge about successful living close to nuclear and other energy technologies. In this poster presentation more about this project will be presented.(author)

Information and communication technologies have opened the way to new solutions for urban mobility that provide better ways to match individuals with on-demand vehicles. However, a fundamental unsolved problem is how best to size and operate a fleet of vehicles, given a certain demand for personal mobility. Previous studies 1-5 either do not provide a scalable solution or require changes in human attitudes towards mobility. Here we provide a network-based solution to the following 'minimum fleet problem', given a collection of trips (specified by origin, destination and start time), of how to determine the minimum number of vehicles needed to serve all the trips without incurring any delay to the passengers. By introducing the notion of a 'vehicle-sharing network', we present an optimal computationally efficient solution to the problem, as well as a nearly optimal solution amenable to real-time implementation. We test both solutions on a dataset of 150 million taxi trips taken in the city of New York over one year 6 . The real-time implementation of the method with near-optimal service levels allows a 30 per cent reduction in fleet size compared to current taxi operation. Although constraints on driver availability and the existence of abnormal trip demands may lead to a relatively larger optimal value for the fleet size than that predicted here, the fleet size remains robust for a wide range of variations in historical trip demand. These predicted reductions in fleet size follow directly from a reorganization of taxi dispatching that could be implemented with a simple urban app; they do not assume ride sharing 7-9 , nor require changes to regulations, business models, or human attitudes towards mobility to become effective. Our results could become even more relevant in the years ahead as fleets of networked, self-driving cars become commonplace 10-14 .

Groups can make better decisions than individuals when members cooperatively exchange and integrate their uniquely held information and insights. However, under conformity pressures group members are biased towards exchanging commonly known information, and away from exchanging unique information, thus undermining group decision-making quality. At the neurobiological level, conformity associates with the neuropeptide oxytocin. A double-blind placebo controlled study found no evidence for oxytocin induced conformity. Compared to placebo groups, three-person groups whose members received intranasal oxytocin, focused more on unique information (i) and repeated this information more often (ii). These findings reveal oxytocin as a neurobiological driver of group decision-making processes.

PIME is a regular meeting, organised by European Nuclear Society. PIME stands for PublicInformation Material Exchange and was launched for the first time in 1988. This proceedings includes papers dealing with public acceptance of nuclear power, young generation project; descriptions of visitor centres; advertising and publicinformation; education and/or information issues; political aspects; dealing with environmentalists and opponents; maintaining media relations; contacts of regulators with the public; ethics and nuclear energy.

PIME is a regular meeting, organised by European Nuclear Society. PIME stands for PublicInformation Material Exchange and was launched for the first time in 1988. This proceedings includes papers dealing with public acceptance of nuclear power, young generation project; descriptions of visitor centres; advertising and publicinformation; education and/or information issues; political aspects; dealing with environmentalists and opponents; maintaining media relations; contacts of regulators with the public; ethics and nuclear energy

This paper describes a number of scenarios estimating the amount of spent nuclear fuel that could be transported to a Monitored Retrievable Storage (MRS) Facility by various combinations of existing cask fleets. To develop the scenarios, the data provided by the Transportation System Data Base (TSDB) were modified to reflect the additional time for cask turnaround resulting from various startup and transportation issues. With these more realistic speed and cask-handling assumptions, the annual transportation capability of a fleet consisting of all of the existing casks is approximately 46 metric tons of uranium (MTU). The most likely fleet of existing casks that would be made available to the Department of Energy (DOE) consists of two rail, three overweight truck, and six legal weight truck casks. Under the same transportation assumptions, this cask fleet is capable of approximately transporting 270 MTU/year. These ranges of capability is a result of the assumptions pertaining to the number of casks assumed to be available. It should be noted that this assessment assumes additional casks based on existing certifications are not fabricated. 5 refs., 4 tabs

We study the strategic problem of a logistics service provider managing a (possibly heterogeneous) fleet of vehicles to serve a city in the presence of access restrictions. We model the problem as an area partitioning problem in which a rectangular service area has to be divided into sectors, each

This paper describes a number of scenarios estimating the amount of spent nuclear fuel that could be transported to a Monitored Retrievable Storage (MRS) Facility by various combinations of existing cask fleets. To develop the scenarios, the data provided by the Transportation System Data Base (TSDB) were modified to reflect the additional time for cask turnaround resulting from various startup and transportation issues. With these more realistic speed and cask-handling assumptions, the annual transportation capability of a fleet consisting of all of the existing casks is approximately 465 metric tons of uranium (MTU). The most likely fleet of existing casks that would be made available to the DOE consists of two rail, three overweight truck, and six legal weight truck casks. Under the same transportation assumptions, this cask fleet is capable of approximately transporting 270 MTU/year. These ranges of capability is a result of the assumptions pertaining to the number of casks assumed to be available. It should be noted that this assessment assumes additional casks based on existing certifications are not fabricated

Machinery supply and its rational use in construction processes considerably determine the final product of construction organizations. Therefore, the problem of defining the type size composition of the construction fleet as one of the lowest material-intensive productions, is of a particular importance.

Full Text Available The advantages of Usage-Based Insurance for automotive covers over conventional rating methods have been discussed in literature for over four decades. Notwithstanding their adoption in insurance markets has been slow. This paper seeks to establish the viability of introducing fleet Telematics-Based Insurance by investigating the perceptions of insurance operators, tracking service providers and corporate fleet owners. At its core, the study involves a SWOT-analysis to appraise Telematics-Based Insurance against conventional premium rating systems. Twenty five key stakeholders in Malta, a country with an insurance industry that represents others in microcosm, were interviewed to develop our analysis. We assert that local insurers have interests in such insurance schemes as enhanced fleet management and monitoring translate into an improved insurance risk. The findings presented here have implications for all stakeholders as we argue that telematics enhance fleet management, TBI improves risk management for insurers and adoption of this technology is dependent on telematics providers increasing the perceived control by insurers over managing this technology.

technologies are challenged at the low speeds of lightweight UAVs. The overall control of the fleet so as to gather series of synchronized data in the cloud volume is a poorly informed and highly constrained adaptive sampling problem, in which the UAV motions must be defined to maximize the amount of gathered information and the mission duration. The overall approach casts the problem in a hierarchy of two modeling and decision stages. A macroscopic parametrized model of the cloud is built from the gathered data and exploited at the higher level by an operator, who sets information gathering goals. A subset of the UAV fleet is allocated to each goal, considering the current fleet state. These high level goals are handled by the lower level, which autonomously optimizes the selected UAVs trajectories using an on-line updated dense model of the variables of interest. Building the models involves Gaussian processes techniques (kriging) to fuse the gathered data with a generic cumulus conceptual model, the latter being defined from thorough statistics on realistic MesoNH cloud simulations. The model is exploited by a planner to generate trajectories that minimize the uncertainty in the map, while steering the vehicles within the air flows to save energy.

The CH2M Hill Hanford Group, Inc., Information Resource Management Strategic Plan is the top-level planning document for applying information and information resource management to achieve the CHG mission for the management of the River Protection Project

The CH2M Hill Hanford Group, Inc., Information Resource Management Strategic Plan is the top-level planning document for applying information and information resource management to achieve the CHG mission for the management of the River Protection Project